Ranma and the Monkey King
by JayMagnus
Summary: Ranma/Dragon Ball crossover. Ranma ends up in the world of Son Goku due to a training mishap.
1. Trapped in a Strange Land!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (And Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; I have little or no money.

**Chapter One**

**Trapped in a Strange Land!**

**My Name is Son Goku!**

Saotome Ranma sat on the edge of a hill, the training ground of Jusenkyo below him. He was pondering the life he had led on the road. He never had a real life; he spent all his time training with his fool of a father. He hadn't seen his mother in over ten years due to this lifestyle and had never had many friends. There was Ukyo, but it had been so long since the last time Ranma had seen the guy he was sure that his "sparring partner" had long forgotten him. Then there was Ryoga, that boy with no sense of direction he had met about six months before the trip to China. He wasn't really a friend, more like a rival. They never had that fight to end their "Bread Feud" since Ranma's father had dragged him off before his opponent arrived at the designated place. Despite the fact that Ryoga had been three days late (At least) the pony tailed boy had been totally willing to wait.

"Stupid old man," Ranma thought. "I bet Ryoga showed up five minutes after we left. Damn, couldn't we have waited a few more hours?"

It was then Ranma began to consider all the things in his life that have gone wrong. Leaving his mom, leaving Ucchan, that whole Neko-Ken mess, all of it was his father's fault. Why did he listen to that fat fool? One day his foolishness might get them both killed. Maybe even worse...

"What the hell have I've been doing...?" Ranma wondered.

"Quit wasting time, boy," he heard his father, Saotome Genma, yell from behind. "Let's head down to that training ground."

Ranma was very still. He didn't turn to face his father. He just muttered something the fat martial artist couldn't really make it out.

"Speak up boy," Genma insisted.

"I said 'No', ya old fool," Ranma yelled as he stood up at his father, meeting him face to face. "Ya got a hearing problem in your old age or what?"

"Why you insolent little..." Genma was shocked to see his son in this manner. Sure, he often gave him backtalk and made smart little comments but he had never out right refused him before. "How dare you speak to your father like that!"

"Some father! All you ever do ruin my life!"

"Foolish boy, you should be prepared to give up your life for the sake of the art!"

"Like I ever had a say in the matter!" Ranma balled his fist. "It's over pop! I'm going back to Japan to find mom, so suck on that old man!"

Genma gave his son an evil look. "Ranma, you sound like a girl!" With that, Genma tossed his son off the hill. Luckially for the boy he landed right into one of the various springs, liely saving him from injury. "Ungrateful little brat. After all I've done for him." The older man blinked. "Hey, shouldn't he have surfaced by now?"

A few minutes later, Genma found himself walking along the springs, searching for the one he launched his only son into. Once he found it, he noticed it strangely Ranma-less. His pony tailed son was not there, though it was obvious something had recently fallen into it, since there were still ripples in the water. However, there was nothing in there, not even a drowned body.

"Oh crap, Nodoka's gonna kill me," Genma cried, not showing much concern for his lost son.

"Sir, what you doing?" Genma heard someone say. He turned around to see a fat Chinese tour guide running toward him. "What you doing? Life is worth living!"

"Huh?" Genma said blankly.

"Oh, you no try curse self? That good, cause very bad thing happen if fall in spring. Take form of whatever drown there last!"

Genma's jaw dropped. "Damn, I knew I should have taken that course on Chinese before we left Japan. Wait a minute, my boy Ranma fell into this spring, but now he's gone. What is this, Spring of the Invisible Man?"

The guide thought about this a moment. "Hmmm, you say son disappeared? That not supposed to happen. Oh, now this one remember! This must be the Gate Way Spring!"

"Gate Way Spring? What is that, and where is my son?" Genma demanded, his thoughts dwelling on his wife decapitating him for losing their only son.

"There very old legend that say that 5,500 year ago, an evil wizard create a portal to another world. No one no why? But now who ever fall in spring go to that world...never to return."

Genma sank down to his knees. "Oh no...now I'll never be able to retire on Tendo's dojo."

Ranma was dumbfounded as he hurled through the sky. He hit the water rather hard. Despite the pain all he could think about was how much he was going to beat on his father when he got out of the spring. His thoughts quickly changed when he saw the oddest thing he had ever seen before: A boy with spiky hair and a monkey tail swimming right beside him. Ranma would have screamed if he hadn't been underwater. The mysterious boy seemed equally upset. They both swam up to the surface as fast as they could. Once the pony tailed boy did so he noticed he was no longer at Jusenkyo. He was now in a strange mountain setting. In fact, this wasn't even a spring he was swimming in. It was a rather large lake.

"What the hell is this?" Ranma said out loud.

"AHHH, SOME KINDA MONSTER!" He heard the monkey tailed boy yelled.

"I ain't a monster," Ranma replied. "I'm human. What're you?"

"Hmmm, grandpa said I was human, so I guess that's what I am," the boy said with a rather confused look. He starred at the older boy for several minutes before finally saying "Well, you sorta look like me so I guess you're not lying. C'mon, let's go to the shore."

A minute later the two were standing on land.

"Hey, are sure you're human? Where's your tail?" The boy asked.

"I ain't got a tail, stupid. I don't know anyone who does!" Ranma responded.

"Now that I think about it, Grandpa didn't have a tail either," the boy remembered. "But then again, Grandpa was a pretty weird guy."

"I'd say you're the weird on, kid." Ranma informed him. "Where am I anyway?"

"I dunno, but I've been here as long as I can remember," the younger boy said. "Hey are you a guy or a girl?"

Ranma shook his head at this kid's stupidity. "Moron, I'm a guy! What are you, blind?"

"Well, I've never seen another human before," the boy admitted.

Ranma pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're kidding, right?"

"Well, I guess Grandpa was human too, but he's the only one," the boy recalled. "Well, I suppose I should feed you or something. Let's head back to my place."

Ranma nodded, if only to perhaps find out where he was. After a few minutes the two young martial artists reached a small cottage at top of a hill. It didn't look like much. After heading inside he noticed an orange sphere with four small red stars in the middle. The monkey boy bowed to it.

"Hey grandpa," he said. "Guess what? There's another human in the house!"

"Why are you talking to that ball?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, that's my Grandpa," the boy explained.

"Whatever," Ranma said. He then realized he didn't know this boy's name, so he properly asked "Hey kid, what's your name?"

"My name...? My name is Son Goku," the boy replied.

Ranma smile at the boy. "I'm Saotome Ranma."

Goku returned the smile, but his grumbling stomach broke the mood. The spiky haired boy realized he never got to get the fish he went looking for. "Alright then, I'm gonna go find some grub. You like bear?"

"Bear? You eat bear?"

"Sure, don't you?"

The pony tailed boy buried his face in his hands. "Oh man, I hate this place already."

* * *

About a week passed…

Ranma awoke early. He quickly dressed in the cloths he had bought a few days before he and his father went to Jusenkyo: A red Chinese styled shirt and black kung-fu pants. The Saotome Heir felt the tip of his new pig tail. He had tied this way on a whim since he came to Goku's home. It felt natural for some reason.

He paused to reflect on his situation. It had been a week since he had first arrived in Goku's little corner of the world. He was pretty certain he wasn't in China anymore. This was mostly based on the fact that dinosaurs do not exist in China, and for some odd reason he had run into some while he was scouting the area. Truthfully Ranma was no history expert but he was pretty confident that dinosaurs weren't around anymore (Those damned thing scared the crap out of him, and Goku just laughed about the whole thing). At least on Earth. So where was he? Some alien world? All the pig tailed martial artist knew that he was lost and needed to get back.

Not that it was all bad. Living with Goku had been an overall pleasant experience. For starters Goku had given him something he hadn't had in ten years: A friend. Sure he was younger and dumber (Or maybe just really naive) than he was, but he had a good heart. Plus he was great fighter. He was just as good, if not better than Ranma (Though Ranma believed that his own skill level was higher, but Goku was stronger and almost as fast so it evened out). This was surprising for such a young looking kid, but refreshing to have such a good sparring partner. Also he found that Goku's interesting choices of meals quite tasty once he got used to it (Who would have thought that roast bear would be so good?).

As Ranma awoke this particular day he decided he needed to leave. He couldn't spend the rest of his life here. He had to find a way back home to Japan and spending time with Goku wasn't going to help. The young Saotome quickly headed outside, finding his monkey tailed friend training by crushing stones with his bare hands.

'I still can't believe how strong he is,' Ranma fumed. 'I've never seen anybody that strong before and he's still just a kid.'

"Morning, Big Brother," Goku said when he noticed Ranma. Goku had gotten into the habit of calling Ranma that. He really liked the pig tailed martial artist and began thinking of him as an older brother figure. Goku never had any friends before. It was a good feeling. "We're gonna practice now, right?"

The older boy frowned. Explaining this to his small friend would be hard. Not to mention sad. Goku had been his only friend in years. It would be heartbreaking to say goodbye to another one.

"No, Goku," Ranma said half heartedly. "I...I'm leaving. Today."

"Huh?" Goku was confused by this. His tiny brain didn't understand clearly. "You don't like it here?"

"It ain't like that Goku," Ranma said, his head cast down. "It's like I said before, I gotta find my way back home. I can't spend the rest of my life hiding in the middle of nowhere."

Goku was silent for a while. It was as if he was in deep thought, but Ranma found that hard to believe. Finally after what seemed like forever Goku responded "I guess I understand." There was an awkward pause before the spiky haired boy added "Well then, I'll go too!"

This caught Ranma off guard. There was no reason for Goku not to come with him. In fact it would be better for both of them since he didn't really like the idea of Goku living alone like a hermit. "You sure you want to come along?"

The younger boy nodded. "It could be fun," was his response.

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of Goku's stomach.

Goku just smiled. "I'm hungry!"

Ranma rolled his eyes in response.

* * *

Adventure and romance. Those were the primary goals of the quest the girl named Bulma was currently on. The quest in question had led her here; the middle of nowhere. There was no sign of intelligent life in this mountain forest and this pissed the young genius off to no end. The setting was nice and all but wandering around the wilderness was not the girl's idea of a good time. However the prospect of achieving her goal, her wish to have to perfect boyfriend, motivated the greenish blue haired girl to move forward. Nothing would stand in the way of her possession of the Dragon Balls. With two on her person and one within her grasp she was practically half way done and she still had lots of time left on her summer break. She'd have the perfect boyfriend sooner then she had anticipated.

Bulma, after briefly stopping her jeep, pulled from her pack her greatest invention to date: the Dragon Radar. She activated the device hoping to get a fix on the Dragon Ball at that was somewhere in the forest. Reality soon set in as she made a horrible discovery.

"The ball…is moving!"

* * *

Ranma wasn't sure if Goku's companionship was a good thing or a bad thing. He couldn't exactly use the boy as a tour guide across this strange land as the monkey tailed lad had never been outside his mountain home. But taking him along with him was better than leaving him alone. Plus Goku was a good traveling buddy as well as sparring partner.

Also the road could get pretty lonely. Though he held no love for his father at this point Ranma was thankful he didn't have to travel alone during his long training trip.

"I'm hungry," Goku informed his pig tailed friend. The two had started on their journey, not having too much with them in the way of possessions. Ranma had what was left of his pack that he had with him when Genma tossed him of the hill while Goku had nothing but the Nyoibo Staff he received from his grandfather and a little sack tied to his belt. They were currently walking down a path in the forest, not really sure where they were heading.

Ranma shook his head. "Didn't you just eat that huge fish?"

"But that was a long time ago."

"A half hour ain't a long time, monkey boy!"

Ranma had more to say on the topic, but he suddenly felt the strong urge to stop in his speech as well in his tracks.

Goku looked at his curiously. "Huh? What's wrong, Big Brother?"

"I…I hear a car!"

Without much warning a jeep appeared in front of the two martial artists.

Having never seen a car before, Goku panicked. "Ahhh! It's a demon!" With that the spiky haired fighter dashed toward what he believed was the enemy.

Ranma gasped as his friend ran toward the jeep. "You idiot! It's just a car!"

Goku must have been caught up in the moment because he ignored Ranma's warning and lifted the jeep over his head and tossing it aside.

Bulma, who had been in the jeep in question, quickly grabbed the gun she had brought with her for protection from the jeep's glove compartment. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but she knew she was under attack. Slipping through an open window she took aim at an unsuspecting Goku.

"Goku, look out! She's got a gun," Bulma heard someone yell out. It was then she saw the pig tailed boy she hadn't noticed earlier. She was practically drooling at the sight of him. 'What a hunk,' she thought to herself.

Ranma bopped his companion on the head with his fist once Bulma put down her gun. "Goku you idiot." He then turned toward the girl who was just attacked. "Sorry about that. Goku's not used to cars or other people for that matter." The Saotome Heir was laughing nervously, not sure if this girl had the power to sue them or not.

Goku, after looking at the girl for more than two seconds decided that she could be human, though she looked a little different than he or Ranma.

Bulma, having seemingly forgotten that she was about to shoot Goku in the head, gave Ranma a seductive smile and wink. "Not a problem," she said sweetly. She climbed out of her fallen jeep and began to close the gap between herself and the pig tailed boy. "I have plenty of vehicle capsules so it's no big loss."

"Right, heh heh," Ranma replied not all that comfortable with Bulma's flirting. "Well, um, if everything's fine then we'll be on our way."

Bulma stopped the two before they could leave. "Wait a second." She pulled out her trusty Dragon Radar in order to confirm her suspicion. Sure enough the device indicated that the Dragon Ball she had been searching for was now just a few feet from where she was standing. "Here I thought some animal had taken it, but you two have it, don't you?"

"Have what?" both Ranma and Goku asked, not having a clue as to what she was talking about.

"A Dragon Ball, of course?" Bulma wasn't sure if they were playing dumb or really didn't know what they had. The teen genius pulled the two Dragon Balls she possessed from her bag. The looked just like the orange sphere Ranma saw at Goku's place only they had a different number of stars.

Goku eyes widened "Whoa, two more grandpas!"

Ranma too was surprised. "You have those weird ball things too?"

Bulma shrugged as she continued. "It's not too surprising you've never heard of them. They're called Dragon Balls and I'm collecting them."

"You mean some poor dragon lost his…" Ranma covered his friend's mouth before Goku could finish the statement. He didn't want to offend this person as he had decided that she was his best chance of getting home.

Ranma laughed nervously (Again). "So whatcha collecting 'em for? Gonna make a pretty necklace or something?" The pig tailed martial artist didn't know much about girls but he was certain that they liked jewelry.

Bulma didn't appreciate Ranma's ignorance, but she hid it well. If she played her cards right she'd get the Dragon Ball and a cute boyfriend. "Actually, no. The truth is that there are seven of these things scattered around the world."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at this. "Geez, that kinda makes it hard to find 'em all, right?"

"It's supposed to be hard, that's the idea. Legend has it that something really amazing happens when they're all gathered together and you chant the proper incantation. You'll be able to summon Shelong, the Dragon God!"

The pig tailed boy shrugged, not taking all this really seriously. "And what's so important about this 'Dragon God' thing?"

"According to the legend Shenlong will grant any one wish, no matter what it may be!"

Goku eyes widened. "Wow! That's awesome!" He opened the little bag he had been carrying and removed his grandfather's heirloom. "I didn't know you could do that, grandpa!"

Bulma smiled. "Aha, I knew you guys had it with you. That's the four star ball, Sushinchu!"

Ranma briefly thought about using the balls for him in order to find his father. Would that work? "So what, ahem, do you plan on wishing for?"

The teen genius hesitated. Her wish was going to be for the perfect boyfriend, but she couldn't tell this super cute guy that. "Umm, I wanted to wish for a lifetime supply of strawberries."

Ranma face faulted at this. 'What a stupid wish,' he thought.

The greenish blue haired girl smiled as brightly and as cheerfully as possible. "Now then, how 'bout you just hand over that dragon ball."

Goku frowned at the girl's request. "What? No way! That's the only thing I got left of my grandpa!"

Bulma tried begging for the ball using her girlish charms but they had no effect on the spiky haired youth. Finally she offered a solution that appealed to Goku. "How 'bout this: You can help me on my quest! You're a he-man type, right? You're supposed to love that kind of stuff. You can help me find the other balls, then let me borrow your ball at the end." She didn't bother to mention that once the wish is made all the balls once again are scattered throughout the Earth.

Goku thought about it, and then turned to Ranma. "What do you think, Big Brother?"

Ranma pondered it for a minute. He still wasn't sure if this whole Shenlong thing was true or not, but the greenish blue haired girl most likely could help him find out where he was and possibly how he could get back to where he came from. Getting in her good graces was the smart thing to do. Besides it was a martial artist's duty to help people in need, right?

"I guess we can help ya out. But how the hell are we gonna find all those things if they're scattered all over the world?"

Bulma flashed her radar. "This is my Dragon Radar. It detects the faint electromagnetic pulse that each ball emits. We'll be able to track them no matter where they are."

The pig tailed boy seemed to be satisfied with this. However if he knew what Bulma was really plotting he may not have agreed to help so quickly.

'Heh, this is perfect,' the teen genius thought. 'Not only will that little shrimp will make the perfect bodyguard but I'll be able to travel with that really hot guy! I'll just use my feminine charm to make the guy fall in love with me.'

The deal having been made, Ranma introduced himself. "I'm Ranma. Saotome Ranma. And the little monkey over there is Son Goku."

"Hi," Goku greeted.

The teen genius nodded as she looked through her capsule case. "…I'm Bulma. Since you guys wrecked my jeep I'll have to use another car." Selecting a capsule she tossed it a few feet away. The impact created a small explosion accompanied by a large cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared a sleek roofless floating car was seen. Both Goku and Ranma were dumbfounded. They had never seen anything like that before.

Seeing their expression Bulma just rolled her eyes. They must have been real country bumpkins to have never seen Hoi Poi Capsules before.

A little while later the three traveling companions found themselves driving along the road. Goku had been convinced the car was some sort of monster, but relaxed when Ranma assured him it was safe. The pig tailed boy in question the front with Bulma. Taking the opportunity to gather information the Saotome Heir tired to confirm his location by asking his new "friend."

"China? What's that?"

"You don't know?" Ranma asked, surprised.

Bulma shrugged. "I've never heard of that town."

The pig tailed boy felt his eye twitch. "You wouldn't happen to have a world map, would ya?"

She tossed him a map. To Ranma's horror the he didn't recognize anything on it. No China, no Japan, not even Asia. It was as if it was a totally different world.

The car suddenly stopped. Bulma gave the boys a cute innocent look. "Excuse me for a bit."

Goku raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Where you going?"

Ranma gave his friend a disgusted look. "You dummy. She's gotta pee."

"You didn't need to say it like that!" Bulma yelled as she hurried, grumbling about idiots.

"What a weirdo. Why doesn't he pee out here?" Goku asked.

"Because 'he' is a girl, monkey-brain," Ranma informed him. He couldn't believe that his friend couldn't tell the difference between guys and chicks. "Girls are dainty and weird." This statement was based on the teachings of Genma of course.

Goku looked as though he had just made an amazing discovery. "Ooooh. So that's what a human girl looks like."

A woman's scream interrupted the conversation. They recognized the voice as being Bulma's. The two quickly raced toward direction she had gone to earlier. What they found was a vicious looking pterodactyl holding a helpless Bulma. While Goku was unfazed by the sight Ranma found himself scared out of his wits. He still wasn't used to seeing dinosaurs.

The pterodactyl sneered at the new arrivals. "Who are you? Part of her pack?"

"Holy shit, that thing can talk!" Ranma gasped.

Goku ignored Ranma's disbelief and addressed the creature. "You a friend of hers or something?"

The pterodactyl smiled evilly at the boy's stupidity. "Why yes, as a matter of fact I am. Can you give us a second while we talk in private for a bit?"

By this time Ranma had regained his senses. "Hey pal, how dumb do ya think we are?"

The monstrous began considering his options. He finally came up with a brilliant plan. He pointed in a random direction and screamed "What the hell is that?" While Goku turned to see what the problem was Ranma just shook his head. "Nice try pal, but the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts invented that move."

"Well, I'm still gonna fly away!" With that the pterodactyl launched itself high into the sky with Bulma in tow.

"You idiots! Save me already!" Was what the teen genius shouted as she was being carried off to be eaten.

"Ah crap, what are we gonna do now?" Ranma demanded. It wasn't like they could after them.

Goku gave his friend a confidant smile as he pulled out his trusty Nyoibo Staff. "We save her, of course."

The spike haired you motioned for the pig tailed boy to grab a hold of the staff. The two began running after their flying foe, gaining momentum all the while. Upon yelling "Grow stick, grow" the Nyoibo began to enlarge. Before Ranma could react to what was going on Goku used the growing staff to propel them high into the air right behind the fleeing pterodactyl.

Both martial artists managed to land directly on top of the creature that kidnapped their friend. Though he wouldn't admit it, Ranma was very freaked out over this whole situation. None the less a life was on the line, and it was a martial artist's duty to protect the weak.

The Saotome Heir turned to his spiky haired ally. "Alright Goku, now what?"

Goku responded by plowing his fist into the head of the pterodactyl causing an instant K.O. to flying creature. Needless to say the gang found themselves plummeting toward the Earth. Luckily they were right above a forest. Quickly catching Bulma, Ranma was able to skillfully grab onto a large branch of a random before they hit the ground. Goku did the same with another tree.

Bulma looked deeply into the blue eyes of her savior. "That was amazing," she said in her best seductive voice. "You're really strong."

Ranma was again not comfortable with Bulma's flirting and wasn't sure how to respond. Luckily (Or disgustingly, depending on your point of view) he didn't have to because Bulma just remembered that she never got to relive herself, and with the added fright from the fall she had a little accident right on the pig tailed boy's person.

While Bulma was speechless with embarrassment Ranma decided right there and then that whatever land he had ended up on he needed to find a way back home. This world was far too insane for him.

"See guys; all's well that ends well," Goku said happily, not noticing Ranma's current bane.

To be continued…

Preview for next chapter

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. Looks like I'm trapped on some screwy version of Earth with no way to get back home. But I bet I could use those Dragon Balls to wish myself back to China!

Goku: Big Brother, why are you taking those balls without telling Bulma?

Ranma: Err…never mind that. I'm more concerned with who this old bald freak is? And what's with that talking turtle? Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Enter the Turtle Hermit!"

Goku: Oh my god! Bulma doesn't have any balls!

Updated Author's Note: For those who can't tell this is an updated, re-written version of the original Chapter One. Frankly I've gotten sick of the "this story is crap" warning on the top of the page and wanted it gone. I've also fixed much of the grammar and spelling problems as well as some minor glitches so that the chapter should flow a bit better now.


	2. Enter the Turtle Hermit!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (And Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; if Son Goku could forgive Piccolo and Vegeta than you can forgive me and not take legal action.

**Chapter 2**

**Enter…the Turtle Hermit!**

**The story just far: **A sudden display of rebellion against Genma caused Ranma to be tossed into a random spring at Jusenkyo. Unlike the other pools there this one turned out to be a one way portal to the world of Son Goku. Now, teamed up with the teen genius Bulma and the Monkey King himself, Saotome Ranma begins his quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls…and a way back to his own world!

The wilderness was no place for a beautiful young girl. Bulma had been repeating this to herself for several days. It didn't help that she was currently speeding in a car with a dumb as dirt little kid with super strength and a super cute boy who she had already embarrassed the hell out of herself by…peeing on the guy! Never the less Bulma was nothing if not determined. She was confident that she could redeem herself in the eyes Ranma. She just needed time. By the end of their journey he would be head over heels in love with her. It was only natural, right?

From the backseat Goku was smiling. "We only need to find four of those ball things, right? That'll be easy."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "It's a big world outside of that mountain paradise of yours, kid. There's a lot of ground to cover."

Ranma was only half paying attention as he was still thinking about what he had learned from the greenish blue haired girl earlier that day: He could very well be on another world. She called it "Earth" and yet it was not like the Earth he was used to at all. Plus he was very uneasy around the girl. She was really flirting and he didn't really know how to deal with something like that. Sure she was cute but he had never had a girlfriend before or anything like that. Besides what do you say to a girl after she pees on you?

Looking at the setting sun Ranma remembered where he was. "Hey it's getting dark. Do you think we should make camp or something?"

Bulma nodded. "Good idea." Of course that was the obvious thing to do, but it was important to make the man you're after feel useful. The travelers found themselves in a rather large clearing. After putting the car back into its capsule the teen genius prepared to use another of those handy devices.

Ranma just shrugged. "I only got one tent with me and it's small. I don't think we all can fit in it."

Goku just smiled dumbly. "Don't worry, Big Brother. I don't mind sleeping out here as long as I get the soft leaves from my bed."

"I'm not sleeping outside," Bulma said from aside.

The pig tailed martial artist nearly cursed. He should have guessed this chick would just be another spoiled princess. "Well, I don't see any houses 'round here, do you?"

Bulma tossed one of her capsules toward the middle of the clearing. Upon landing it exploded, leave rather cozy looking house. Not for the first time Ranma and Goku found themselves dumbfounded.

The teen genius just smiled at the two martial artists' expressions. "Still feeling like setting up camp?"

"Big Brother, I think we better watch this one. She could be a witch," Goku whispered to his unofficial older brother.

The Saotome Heir wanted to reassure his friend that Bulma wasn't a witch but he didn't really have an explanation for how she made cars and houses appear out of thin air using those weird capsule things.

After several antics involving Goku and his lack of knowledge of technology, Bulma decided to relax with a refreshing bath. Ranma had taken the opportunity to look at the world map a little closer. The layout was totally different then the Earth he was used to. He was almost sure he was on another version of the planet. But how did he get there? Was there something about the water of the springs of Jusenkyo? Chances are he wouldn't find out anytime soon. The pig tailed boy knew he needed to get home but if he was indeed on another world then the chances of him succeeding were low.

Ranma perked up as he suddenly had a thought. The Dragon Balls were supposed to be able to grant any wish. Surely he could use their magic to return home. But then again Bulma said the Dragon only grants one wish and the teen genius had already stated that she had one in mind.

'But her wish is so stupid,' he though t to himself. 'The power to have anything in the world and she just wants a bunch of strawberries. Maybe I should just tell her that I need use the wish. No way, she'd never buy that I'm from another world. I mean, even I think it's crazy."

The Saotome Heir recalled words of wisdom his father gave to him when he was younger. "Ranma my boy, the path of martial arts is fraught with peril. Often in order to survive one must do things that may seem dishonorable to those who do not understand how hard it is on the road. It may seem wrong now, Ranma, but it is for the greater good. Now go over there and steal us some lunch."

Of course this was typical Genma logic but such words can have a lasting impression on a young child.

'I could always just take the balls,' Ranma told himself. 'It's not like Bulma's gonna wish for anything important anyway.'

The pig tailed boy's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of screaming. Goku suddenly ran past him followed closely by a barrage of flying bathroom utensils.

"What the hell happen?" Ranma asked his monkey tailed friend.

"I'll tell you what happened," an angry Bulma shouted as she walked from the bathroom dressed in her night clothes. Even though Ranma wasn't used to girls he could tell that she was pissed. "That pervert monkey peeped on me while I was in the bath!"

Ranma doubted that Goku would do such a thing intentionally especially since he didn't know the difference between men and women. "He's just a little kid. Cut 'em some slack, he didn't know."

This only made the teen genius angrier. "That 'little kid' just admitted he was fourteen!"

Goku just shrugged. "Just because you got that weird fat chest doesn't mean you gotta take it out on me."

Ranma pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're fourteen? How the hell can you eat so much and be so damn short?"

The monkey tailed youth just laughed. "I dunno…I just am!"

After dinner (Which ended pretty badly after Goku told Bulma her food was disgusting and then went out and ate a wolf) the group found themselves preparing for bed. Ranma and Goku were to sleep on the floor while Bulma took the bed.

As Bulma brushed her teeth she thought she would make a little small conversation with the pig tailed boy. "So what exactly is the deal with you and the monkey?" Goku had drifted off to sleep by so it was basically just the two older kids.

Ranma shrugged. "Truthfully I just met him. I don't know too much about him."

The teen genius giggled. "I didn't think a cool guy like you would hang around with a country bumpkin dork like him. I mean that fake tail is _so_ lame."

The pig tailed martial artist became annoyed at that. He quickly went to the defense of his short friend. "Hey, Goku's not that bad. He's just a little…dumb. And for your information his tail is real."

Bulma's eyes lit up. "No way! What kind of freak has a tail?"

Ranma again shrugged. "I got no clue. He said his parents abandoned him in the forest. He also said he was raised by some old guy who's died since then."

"That's horrible." Bulma actually didn't care. This was all a part of her master plan. She would now use this opportunity demonstrate that she can be caring and sensitive. "How about you? What's your story?"

Ranma hesitated for a few minutes before answering. He didn't want to embarrass himself by saying certain unbelievable things. "Well, I'm a traveling martial artist. Me and my old man have been wandering around the world since I was really little."

"Really? It must have been a hard life."

"I guess. But it comes with the territory, you know? It paid off too, since I'm pretty much the best at what I do."

Bulma tried really hard to ignore the ego that Ranma was displaying. If he wasn't so damn cute she wouldn't stand for it. "So where's your dad now?"

Ranma again hesitated. "Um, I'm not sure," he said truthfully. "We got separated and I've been looking for 'em ever since."

The teen genius inwardly smirked. It was perfect. Ranma was had lost his family and would now need to someone to lean on. What better person then the amazingly beautiful, talented, and brilliant Bulma!

Before the girl could say anything, Ranma yawned rather loudly. "It's late. I'm gonna hit the sack. See ya in the morning."

What Bulma didn't realize was that like her, Ranma had his own, less than noble, plans. As they both went to their separate sleeping arrangements both were plotting against the other.

Ranma awoke early. He didn't figure Bulma to be an early riser type person so he believed he was safe. Tip toeing across the capsule house the pig tailed martial artist was able to find the Dragon Balls in a bag sitting on the kitchen counter. Goku had also left his grandfather's ball there as well.

"Geez," he said to himself. "This a pretty reckless place to leave these things. If there so damn precious you'd think she'd hide 'em or something."

The Chinese clothes clad youth was just about to hide when the terrified screaming of Goku interrupted his train of thought. Before Ranma could react a frightened Bulma raced into the room. What she found was something unexpected.

The teen genius angrily sneered at the pig tailed culprit. "So Goku was right! You were about to steal my balls! I should have never have trusted you!"

"Hey," Ranma protested. "It ain't what it looks like!"

"So you weren't about to steal my Dragon Balls and use them to make your own wish?"

"…Okay, maybe it is what it looks like but I did it for a good reason! You were just going to waste the wish on strawberries! I need to use it to go home!"

Bulma became very angry at this. "For your information I was going to use the Dragon Balls to wish for the world's most perfect boyfriend, who obviously isn't you, you stinking thief!"

Ranma too became angry. "What? I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that you're gonna wish for a boyfriend considering you've been coming on to me like a drunken slut since we met."

"How dare you call me a slut, you thief!"

"Slut!"

"Thief!"

"Slut!"

"Thief!"

"That's it!" Ranma screamed. "Goku, let's go outside and spar!"

The spiky haired boy, who had been watching from the other room, quickly followed his friend out the door, not forgetting to grab his own Dragon Ball.

"How could you rat me out, Goku?" Ranma asked as he took a swing at his sparring partner.

As the boy managed to leap over the attack he gave his friend an odd look. "Huh? I dunno what you're talking about."

Blocking the younger boy's attack Ranma replied "You told Bulma I was taking the Dragon Balls, right?"

Goku shook his head. "All I did was tell her balls were missing."

Ranma gave him a puzzled look.

"When I woke up this morning," Goku began. "I saw Bulma was still sleeping. I remembered she had said not to use her as a pillow last night, but I decided to try it anyway. I put my head on her lap but I noticed it felt weird. So I opened her legs and I saw that her balls were missing!"

Ranma fell to the ground head first. Picking himself up Chinese cloths wearing fighter promptly smacked Goku on the head. "You idiot! She's a girl! Girl's don't have balls!"

Goku thought about this for a second. "Ooooh. Instead they got those butts their chest, right?"

Ranma rolled his eyes at Goku's display of ignorance. "Yeah, sure Goku."

They were not able to complete their morning sparring. Before they could a mysterious creature suddenly appeared right next to them.

"Excuse me," the creature said to the two martial artists.

Ranma raised an eyebrow. It was a sea turtle. And it was talking. If he hadn't seen so many strange things since coming to this world then he might have been far more shocked than he was.

"Hello," the turtle said politely.

"Um…hi," was Ranma's response.

"Could I trouble you for a bucket of salt water?"

"Um…sure." Ranma turned toward the house. "Hey Bulma, could you get bring a bucket of salt water out here?"

The teen genius in question came out not too long afterward. "Why the hell should…Hey, what's with the turtle?"

"Hey asked for some salt water," Goku informed her.

Impatient at Bulma, Ranma walked into the house and retrieved the water himself. He gave it to their turtle guest who happily accepted.

Drinking it the turtle began speaking again. "Thank you so much. I should explain. I'm a turtle."

"No kidding," Ranma said sarcastically.

The turtle ignored him and went on. "You see I was out gathering mushrooms and, wouldn't you know it, I got lost. For the better part of a year I've been trying to find my way back to the sea."

Bulma narrowed her eyes. "The sea, huh? You're going in the wrong direction. In fact you're way off track. The sea's about 120 kilometers to the south."

The turtle was shocked. He hadn't realized he had gone so far off course.

Goku gave their new friend a bright smile. "Hey, you want us to take you to the sea?"

Bulma quickly shot down that idea. "Hello? We've got our on quest to deal with here, remember? We don't have time to help every little turtle that comes along with a sad story!"

Ranma gave the girl a dirty look. "It's not a big deal. We just take him there then get back on the quest. Why are you being so un-cute about this?"

Being called un-cute really set Bulma off. "Why you…? This is probably all some kind of trick to get me to lower my guard so you can make off with the Dragon Balls!"

The pig tailed martial artist gave up. "Fine. It's not like we need your help. C'mon Goku. C'mon Turtle."

With Goku carrying the turtle on his back the three left the clearing where Bulma stood alone.

"I'm sorry, lads. I didn't mean to make your friend angry at you," the turtle said to the two fighters as they made their way to the sea.

Ranma just shrugged. "It doesn't matter. She'll come around once she remembers that Goku still has his Dragon Ball."

The sound of a motor cycle confirmed Ranma's suspicion as Bulma (Still dressed in her night gown) suddenly rode up from behind them.

"I've decided to forgive you two," she said without look either of the boys directly in the face. She then smirked. "I'm just too noble for my own good."

Both Ranma and Goku just stared at her. They hadn't known her for very long but neither one believed that statement for a minute.

The group continued on not realizing that danger lurked up ahead. A massive one eyed bear wearing strong armor and carrying a huge sword awaited their passage at the road.

"Heh, all too easy," the bear man muttered to himself.

The group of travelers finally made their way to where the bear stood. Bulma began freaking out when she saw the look of murder in the bear's eye. Ranma was on edge, but his pride of a martial artist wouldn't allow him to show it. Goku didn't seem to understand the situation.

The bear pointed his huge sword at the seemingly defenseless group. "Stop right there. I'm not sure how you knew sea turtle was my favorite dish but I'll gladly accept it."

Ranma ignored Bulma's demands to surrender the turtle. He gave the bear a cocky smirk. "We ain't giving up nothing, bear brain."

The bear was more amused than angry. "You want to try to take me on, little man. Come on then."

Ranma's smirk disappeared. "Watch the turtle, Goku."

The boy nodded. "Right!"

The pig tailed martial artist wasn't sure if this was a good idea. As a highly skilled fighter he could defeat opponents larger than he, but he had never fought a bear before. Perhaps it was time to unleash the Saotome Desperation Strikes!

The bear man swung his sword straight at the Saotome Heir. To Ranma it was unbelievably slow. He easily managed to avoid it easily. "Not even close. Maybe if you laid off the turtle burger you might not be so dumb and slow."

Interestingly, Bulma was already half way down the road trying to convince Goku to leave Ranma to the mercy of the bear. The pig tailed boy didn't notice.

The bear was irate. "You mock me! This time for real!"

Another swing and a miss on the part of the bear. Ranma's confidence was going through the roof as he continued to make his opponent look like a fool. "This is getting old, pal. Eat this; The Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Desperation Technique #1!"

The Saotome Heir paused for a minute before pointing behind the bear and screaming "Oh my god, a field full of delicious looking sea turtles!"

The bear, being the stupid brute that he was, turned around excitingly. "Oh boy!"

By this time Ranma had put all his strength into a devastating kick that knocked the bear out cold. He turned to his friend and gave a confident smirk. "We call that move Fox-Fu; striking your opponent from behind like the cunning fox."

Bulma just gave the boy a disgustingly look. "Is your entire fighting style based on lies and deceit?"

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah, a lot of it."

With the obstacle defeated, the travelers continued their journey toward the sea.

"Wow, what a wide river!" It seemed that Goku had never seen the sea before. The sight of it was indeed breathtaking.

The turtle was ecstatic. "You've done it, lads! We've reached the sea!"

Ranma shrugged. "Don't mention it. It's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak."

Bulma rolled her eyes. She was starting t get sick of him saying that.

The turtle gave them all a big smile. "I assure you, your generosity shall not go unrewarded. Will you please wait here moment as I go fetch you your reward." With that, the turtle swam away.

"What kind of reward does a turtle give out?" Bulma asked.

She did not have to wait long for the answer as the turtle soon retuned. However this time he had a passenger.

Upon landing on the beach, said passenger (A bald old man with a very thick beard, holding a wooden staff, wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt, sunglasses, shorts and oddly enough a turtle shell on his back) hoped off. "Hiya."

Bulma sneered at their reward. "Oh good, an old man."

Goku scratched his head. "Who are you, old timer?"

The old man smirked (Though they could not tell due to the thickness of his white beard). "They call me…Kame-sen'nin, the turtle hermit!"

The group found themselves speechless.

Kame-sen'nin examined the youths. "Did all three help you out?" he asked his turtle friend.

"I'm afraid it was just the two boys, master."

The turtle hermit faced the two martial artists. "Well my boys, you did me a great favor. In return I shall give you each a gift." The old man turned back toward the sea and pointed his staff. "To me…Immortal Phoenix!"

Nothing happened.

The turtle pulled his master's shorts, hoping to gain his attention. "Sir, if you recall the food poison incident…"

The turtle smacked his hand against his forehead. "Oh that's right. We lost the poor bird. Shoot and I was going to make these boys immortal too. No matter!" He returned to his beckoning stance. "To me…Magic Carpet!"

Again nothing happened.

"Sir, I do believe we sold the carpet at that garage sale a few years back."

"Hmmm, how about the Un-killable Flying Griffin?"

"Dead."

"Enchanted Elephant?"

"Retired."

"Blazing Saddle?"

"Sir, that was a movie."

"Ah yes." The old man had to think about this a longer. After a few minutes he snapped his fingers. "I know! But if I give them up I'll have no magical means of transportation. Ah, to heck with it! In this modern time of capsules, who needs magic?"

Kame-sen'nin again faced the sea. "Come to me…Kinto'un!"

This time something reacted to the old man's call, making the group realize that the turtle hermit wasn't just the senile old idiot that he seemed. A golden cloud approached at a terrifying speed. It stopped suddenly right in front of the old man.

Goku scratched his head. "How do ya eat something like this?"

The turtle hermit responded by bonking the boy on the head with his staff. "You don't eat it, boy. You ride it. It will take you anywhere you want."

Bulma gave the old man an odd look. "The Turtle Hermit with a magical cloud? That doesn't make any sense."

Kame-sen'nin just ignored the comment and continued his explanation. "This cloud had standards. Only the pure hearted can ride it. I shall demonstrate."

The old man attempted to demonstrate only to end up going straight through the golden cloud.

Ranma smirked. "Heh, looks like the old man ain't exactly a saint."

"It's broken I tells ya!" was the old man's response.

"Lemme try!" Goku said as he jumped on top of the cloud, landing perfectly. He began to dance around, singing happily because he was floating. Giving the cloud orders to fly, he soon found himself zooming across the sky.

Ranma became excited. He never dreamed he'd receive such an item. "That's great! Do I get one too?"

The Turtle Hermit made no facial expression. "I only have the one cloud, but I have something similar that I'm sure you'll enjoy." Once more the old man faced the sea. "To me…Baby Gamera!"

Ranma blinked. "Gamera? As in the movie monster?"

Just as if things could not get any stranger a spinning turtle shell spewing fire from its arm and leg holes flew in from the west and landed besides the Kame-sen'nin. It popped out its head (Which was vicious looking) and limbs and faced his master. "You called m'lord?"

Ranma nearly had a heart attack. "What the hell is this, ya old fart? You give Goku a cool magic cloud but you give me some pint sized version of that old movie monster?"

Baby Gamera turned to his master with a shocked expression. "Is this true my lord? I am to serve this ignorant youth?"

Ranma grew angry at the turtle's comment. "Who you calling ignorant, ya ugly excuse for a turtle?"

Kame-sen'nin just laughed. "I'm sure you two will get along fine."

Ranma just grumbled. "No way am I ridding that ugly thing!"

Baby Gamera sighed at his new master. "Just shout my name and I shall come. Or don't, I don't really care." With that the vicious looking turtle returned within his shell and flew off.

Bulma was laughing very hard at her companion. "Looks like you got the short end of the stick. I bet my prize will be even better than Goku's."

Kame-sen'nin gave the girl a strange look. "What did you do?"

Bulma became angry at that. "I gave your buddy the salt water!"

"No, that was me," Ranma reminded her.

"But whose house did you get the water from!"

By this time Goku had returned. "Wow, that was great! Thanks, old timer!" He turned toward Ranma. "What'd you get Big Brother?"

"A flying turtle," the pig tailed boy said lamely.

The Turtle Hermit addressed Bulma again. "I suppose I can give ya something if you…l-l-let m-me take a peek at your p-p-panties!"

The turtle was shocked. "Sir, really that is inappropriate behavior!"

Ranma too was shocked. "He's just a dirty old man! But knowing Bulma she'd probably jump at the chance to show off her goods."

Bulma smacked the back of Ranma's head. She then addressed the old man. "If it's only my panties…" Without much hesitation the greenish blue haired girl lifted her sleeping gown causing the old man, as well as Ranma for that matter, to have furious nose bleeds.

'Man, she really is slutty!' Ranma thought to himself as he tried to wipe the blood from his nose.

Kame-sen'nin, satisfied, began thinking what else he could give up. At which point Bulma made a discovery: The old man had a necklace. One that was attached to an orange sphere. Bulma nearly ripped the ball from the old man as she examined it.

"This is…a Dragon Ball! The three star Sanshinkyu."

Both Ranma and Goku were both shocked at their luck.

"Old man, this is what I want!" Bulma exclaimed.

Kame-sen'nin just starred. "Hey, did I say you could have that."

Bulma reminded the old guy why he should give it up by pulling her gown up again. A quick nose bleed later and the Turtle Hermit agreed.

And so the two groups went their separate ways.

Back at the capsule house Ranma was getting the last of his things together for the next portion of their journey. As he was doing the deed the pig tailed martial artist reflected on the day's events. He had failed in stealing the Dragon Balls, helped out a turtle, beat up a bear, met an old perv, got an ugly as sin turtle, and ended up with the next Dragon Ball. Things had certainly gotten weird.

Suddenly they got worse as Goku raced out of the house being followed by an irate Bulma armed with a machine gun. "Get back here and die, you damn monkey!" She screamed.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Now what?"

"That idiot friend of yours took my panties off this morning! That means that old perv saw me naked!"

Ranma pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hey, ain't Goku's fault that you're too dumb to notice you didn't have underwear on. Didn't it feel kinda weird when you were ridding that motorcycle?"

Bulma was silent for a few minutes. Then after a while she pointed her gun at the pigtailed fighter. "This is probably your fault somehow!"

And so our story ends with both Ranma and Goku running from a crazed teenager with a gun. The Saotome Heir wondered if he should call that ugly turtle for help.

To be continued…

Preview for next Chapter!

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. Wouldn't ya know it, things just keep getting worse. Somehow my old rival Ryoga shows up! How the hell did he get to this world? And why's he so pissed?

Ryoga: Because of you, Ranma, I've seen hell! I'll hunt you down no matter where you run!

Ranma: Geez, calm down, man. Is this over that bread feud? Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Ranma Prepare to Die! Furious Ryoga Appears!"

Goku: Wow, he looks strong! Can I fight him?

Author's Note: Due to popular demand, "Ranma and the Monkey King" is now my primary story to work on. I can't believe how much people like this fic! I thought the story sucked but a lot of people disagreed. In any case since I'm going to be working on this story "Perfection" is as of right now on hold. It's just as well since I was going to put it on the shelf anyway for revision.

Updated Notes: I've fixed a bunch of grammar and spelling errors in this update. Also I should remind DB fans that Goku at this point thought he was 14 years old when he was actually closer to 10.


	3. Ranma, Prepare to Die!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (And Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; I have nothing you want!

**Chapter 3**

**Ranma, Prepare to Die!**

**Furious Ryoga Appears!**

**The story just far:** A sudden display of rebellion against Genma caused Ranma to be tossed into a random spring at Jusenkyo. Unlike the other pools there this one turned out to be a one way portal to the world of Son Goku. Now, teamed up with the teen genius Bulma and the Monkey King himself, Saotome Ranma begins his quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls…and a way back to his own world!

**Last Chapter:** After Ranma and Bulma decided they didn't like each other, the pig tailed boy and Goku helped a lost sea turtle get back to his master, Kame-sen'nin. In return for their help, the turtle hermit gave the group the Kinto'un Cloud, Baby Gamera (Much to Ranma's disgust), and the three star Dragon Ball!

A about a week and a half ago …

Ranma was dumbfounded as he hurled through the sky. He hit the water rather hard. Despite the pain all he could think about was how much he was going to beat on his father when he got out of the spring. His thoughts quickly changed when he saw the oddest thing he had ever seen before: A boy with spiky hair and a monkey tail swimming right beside him. Ranma would have screamed if he hadn't been underwater. The mysterious boy seemed equally upset. They both swam up to the surface as fast as they could. Once the pony tailed boy did so he noticed he was no longer at Jusenkyo. He was now in a strange mountain setting. In fact, this wasn't even a spring he was swimming in. It was a rather large lake.

But what Ranma failed to realize was that about an hour later his arch rival repeated that process, minus the encounter with a monkey boy. Hibiki Ryoga hit the water just as hard as Ranma had. When the lost boy reached the surface, his eyes were burning with rage. He realized now that agreeing to work with the father of his hated foe was big mistake. Once he reached the shore he knew that chances are he was stuck on this world for good. And it was all…Ranma's…fault!

"Saotome Ranma, I'll send you to hell, if it's the last thing I do!"

* * *

Ranma yawned as he and Goku waited for Bulma to finish up her shopping. They had come across a town and Bulma had insisted that they stop. The girl had gone to buy some supplies, though to Ranma this was just another excuse for a chick to shop.

"I'm sooooo bored," Goku said from the back seat of the car both fighters were currently sitting in. "Hey Big Brother, let me see that turtle you got from the old guy the other day."

The pig tailed martial artist's face became stern. "Damn old freak. He gave me that stupid mouthy monster movie reject! There' ain't no way I'm gonna call that thing."

Gou pouted at this but soon forgot as he got another idea. "Let's go walking around. I'm really bored just sitting here doing nothing!"

Ranma nodded. Bulma had told them to stay in the car but the teen genius wasn't their boss. "Yeah, let's take a walk. Bulma gave me some money earlier so maybe we can do a little shopping ourselves."

"Can we get some food?"

"I don't think we have enough cash for that with the way you eat, monkey boy."

So the two martial artists found themselves wandering around the small town. Eventually they came across something that caught Ranma's eyes. It was a shop that sold capsules. This was a perfect opportunity for them to find out exactly what those capsule things were. Upon entering the shop the first thing the pig tailed boy noticed was that the shop keeper was a fox. No, he wasn't an attractive lady, but the real type of fox. He was standing upright, dressed in cloths and even had glasses.

The shop keeper greeted them. "Welcome, travelers, to the best Capsule Shop in the Central East! How may I serve your capsule need today?"

Ranma was about to ask him why he was a talking animal but realized that if there are going to be talking bears and turtles on this world then why not foxes? "Um, yeah, this is me and my buddy's first time in a town. We've been, uh, training in the mountains for most of our lives and have finally come out to civilization. We were wondering what these capsule things are?"

The store keeper gave Ranma odd look, but complied with his request. "Hoi Poi Capsules are the brainchild of renowned scientist and genius Dr. Briefs, who is also CEO of the company that produces them. The basic premise of the invention is that various useful items, such as cars and houses, are stored in easy to carry capsules. Basically you could have several cars, planes and various other things on your person and no one would even notice. I must say that Capsule Corporation changed our world."

Ranma nodded his head. He could see how such an invention could catch on. "You know what; I think I'll buy one of those capsule things."

The storekeeper smirked. "For a first time user like yourselves I suggest you purchase the Mystery Capsule!"

Goku spoke up for the first time since they entered the store. "Why would we want the Misery Capsule?"

The pig tailed boy laughed a bit. "He said mystery, not misery."

The shopkeeper continued. "You see, the Mystery Capsule is a promotional gimmick this store is famous for. We pack random items into various capsules and sell them for the standard price of 5,000 zennie. We don't know what's inside, but there's a chance you could get something very valuable or rare at that cheap price. It's very popular for people who are new to capsules."

Goku scratched his head. "What's zennie?"

"It must be what they call money here," Ranma assumed.

"Oh. Wait…what's money?"

Ranma rolled his eyes. He pulled out the cash Bulma had given him. "This is money, Goku. You can use it to buy stuff. We got just enough to buy that Mystery Capsule thing."

The shopkeeper smiled. "A good choice, sir."

After exchanging the money for the capsule, Ranma and Goku headed outside to see what they bought. It turned out to be an old beat up, though pretty large, mobile home.

Goku never the less was impressed by it. "Hey, that house has wheels!"

Ranma sighed. He was hoping for a plane. Instead he got this piece of junk. The Saotome Heir quickly put the car back into its capsule and put it in his pocket. "Man, what a rip-off."

By this time Bulma had found her two companions. She was pretty angry that she had to go looking for them. "Where the hell have you two been? I told you to wait in the car!"

The older boy gave Bulma cocky look. "Who died and made you Queen? You're not our boss."

The teen genius became annoyed at the pig tailed boy's remark. "Listen here, Saotome: This is my quest. Despite what you think we're going to do at the end, I'm wishing for a boyfriend! These are my Dragon Balls, these are my capsules, and this is my journey! I'm the main character here; you two are just extras that I picked up along the way! That's why I'm the boss!"

Ranma became angry as well. "Look, you; these ain't all your Dragon Balls. Goku has one of his own and you can't make a wish without it. Too bad for you he's _my_ friend so he's gonna help me get _my _wish! Right, Goku."

"Right," Goku responded even though he had no idea what he was agreeing to or even what the argument was about.

The greenish blue haired girl sighed. This argument was getting old. Ever since Ranma tried to steal the Dragon Balls a few days ago the two had been fighting all the time over who gets to make the wish. "You know what; let's just get something to eat. I haven't eaten at a good restaurant in a long while."

Goku became excited as food was mentioned. "Alright! I was starting to get real hungry!"

And so the three travelers made their way toward a restaurant.

* * *

How long had it been since Ryoga had arrived on this world? He had lost track of the time days ago. His whole involuntary expedition to this world was all one huge blur of insanity. This was Ranma's fault, and he would pay. This the lost boy swore.

The bandana clad youth looked around. There was a small town nearby. Perhaps he could find some food there, as he was pretty hungry. He just prayed that his sense of direction wouldn't make him lose his way this time.

* * *

"For a small town there sure is a large selection of restaurants," Bulma noted as she and her companions continued searching for someplace to eat.

Ranma nodded on agreement. "Yeah I guess but can we just pick one already. Goku might resort to cannibalism if we don't feed him soon."

Goku scratched his head. "What's cannibalism?"

"It's when you eat people."

The spiky haired boy raised an eyebrow. "Do people taste good?"

"NO!" Both Bulma and Ranma shouted. It would be a very tragic day should Goku decided he had a taste for human flesh.

Tired of wandering around, the pig tailed martial artist stopped suddenly in front of a random restaurant. "Let's just eat here. I'm tired of this. Anyplace is as…"

Ranma never got to finish his sentence as he was cut if by the sound of someone screaming at the top of his lungs. "YOU!"

All three travelers turned to see a boy, about Ranma and Bulma's age, wearing a yellow long sleeve sweatshirt, black kung-fu pants, and a leopard skin bandana across his forehead. He had an enraged look on his face. He had a toothy frown that revealed fangs that were unusual for a human to have.

"Who's that hunk?" Bulma excitedly demanded.

The newcomer charged at the group with what appeared to be a bamboo umbrella. "After all this time we meet again! Saotome Ranma, prepare to die!"

Ranma was caught off guard, but his reflexes were able to allow him to dodge the angry fighter's initial attack. "Who the hell are you?"

This made the fighter stop in his tracks. "Who am I? I'm the one whose life you ruined, you bastard!"

Ranma thought about this for a second. He came up with nothing.

The fighter looked at him sadly. "You really didn't remember?'

Ranma shook his head. This disgusted Bulma. "Are you that much of an idiot?" she asked.

The new arrival became angry again. "Just tell me this, Ranma; why did you run out on our fight!"

As soon as he said those words Ranma instantly remembered who this guy was. But it couldn't be him, right? This was a whole different world, wasn't it? How could this guy have gotten here?

"It can't be…Hibiki Ryoga?"

Ryoga smirked evilly. "You've finally remembered."

Ranma's eyes were full of shock. "How could you possibly be here? It's impossible."

"Did you think hiding on another world would save you from my wrath? I promised myself long ago that I'd make you pay for your crimes and avenge my honor!"

Bulma was confused by the new arrival's words. "Another world? Ranma, what's he talking about?"

Ranma, annoyed at Ryoga for his lack of discreetness, lost hi stemper. "You idiot! They didn't know about that!"

"Do you think that I care about whatever lies you told these people, Saotome? I'm here to make you pay for the crimes of you and your father!"

The pig tailed fighter became confused at what Ryoga said. "Pop? What does Pop have to do with anything?"

Before Ryoga could answer he found his arm was being hugged by Bulma. Now despite some of her lesser qualities the teen genius was still very attractive. The lost boy however was not used to being so close with pretty girls.

"Tee-hee," Bulma giggled. "Why don't we stop all this fighting and get something to eat. Won't you join us, Hibiki-san?"

The bandana clad youth struggled with his words as what came out as non-coherent babbling. Bulma, being an opportunist simply said: "I'll take that as a yes."

"Geez, she really is slut," Ranma muttered. "She'd go after any guy she thinks is cute."

"I'm hungry," Goku replied.

A little later the group along with their guest found themselves seated at a table in one of the many restaurants in town.

"Are sure you can pay for this?" Ranma asked the resident genius after they had placed their orders, Goku having ordered three of everything in the house.

She shrugged. "It's okay. I come from money. Even if Goku eats the place out of business I should be able to pay for it." She turned her attention to Ryoga who was sitting uncomfortably next to her. "So what's your story, handsome?"

Goku nodded in agreement, though he was a bit upset. "Yeah, why do you wanna beat up Big Brother?"

Ryoga looked at the boy strangely, disgusted that he would look up to Ranma of all people as his "big brother." "It all started when the two of us were in middle school…"

Some time ago…

Ryoga hadn't eaten in days. This was due to the fact he had used all his energy and focus to reach school which had taken him a week to do so. But finally he'd made it and now he was going to get the last piece of bread in the cafeteria. The bread was thrown high in the air by the lunch lady and Ryoga knew that, being the only martial artist in school, he would be able to grab with ease. "It's mine," he declared. Sadly an unknown villain suddenly jumped on his head using him as springboard I order to grab the bread for himself.

After they both landed Ryoga addressed his new enemy. "That was my bread!"

The pony tailed boy who had beaten him smirked. He seemed to be new to the school. "Well, you were too slow."

Ryoga's face became stern. "Who are you?"

"Saotome Ranma."

"Saotome, eh? I shall not forget this offense of bread!"

"That's it?" Goku asked. "You're mad at him over some bread?" It seemed like a pretty dumb thing to be made about.

Ryoga felt insulted by that. "Of course not! I'm mad at him over a lot of bread! He did this to me every day for months! And when I finally challenge him to a fight he turns tail and runs away!"

Ranma pinched the bridge if his nose. "Ryoga, I waited for you for three days."

Both Bulma and Goku's eyes lit up when they heard that. Why would he make Ranma wait three days?

The lost boy became started to become angry once again. "But when I got there on the fourth day you had run off to China with your father!"

Ranma shook his head at his rival. "The vacant lot where we agreed to meet…was behind your house! Why the hell did it take you four days to get there?"

The lost boy said nothing. Ranma knew why it took him so long. Ryoga had the world's worst sense of direction. He'd get lost in his own house.

Goku still wasn't satisfied with Ryoga's reasoning. "But that's still a stupid reason."

The bandana clad fighter growled at the boy. "That was only the first insult. The real reason I want revenge is because of Ranma I have seen hell! It's Ranma's fault that I'm stuck on this insane world!"

Bulma had looked at the boy strangely, then back at Ranma. "What does he mean, 'this world'?"

Ranma nervously laughed at teen genius. "Ha ha ha, good one Ryoga! I think you really had 'em there with that silly joke."

"Are you mocking me, Saotome?" Ryoga angrily demanded. "You know good and well that you and I are from another world!"

The pig tailed boy buried his face in his hands. "You really are a stupid idiot, Ryoga."

Bulma scratched her head, not sure what to make if this conversation. "So, you guys are aliens or something?"

Ranma sighed to himself. The jig was up. "No, not exactly. We're from Earth, but just not this Earth."

Goku was totally lost. Luckily at this moment the food had arrived. It was a good distraction for the monkey tailed boy.

Bulma nodded knowingly. "Parallel universes, huh?'

Both Ranma and Ryoga showed blank expressions on their faces. The teen genius mumbled something about dumb jocks. "There's a theory," she started. "That there are an infinite number of realities each with its own Earth. My dad knows a few experts on the subject so that's how I know about it. I never really believed it before, but that would explain why Ranma knows absolutely nothing about the way the world works, not to mention Goku's tail."

"Not really," Ranma interrupted. "I met Goku when I first came here so he's a native." The pig tailed boy turned toward Ryoga. "But you still haven't explained how the hell you got here. I mean, I'm not even sure how I got here."

"I'm sick of your lies, Ranma!" Ryoga shouted. He calmed himself as he told the tragic story of his arrival on this world.

A about a week and a half ago …  
Ryoga had reached a valley full of springs. He had no idea where he was, but he believed he was still in China. He could almost smell his rival somewhere around here.

There was no sign of human life except for a lone hut not too far from the springs. 'I guess I better ask where I am,' Ryoga thought to himself.

From inside the hut the Jusenkyo Guide was trying to console his latest customer, a fat Japanese martial artist who unwittingly tossed his only son into the mysterious "Gate-Way Spring." Saotome Genma was not in a good mood. He was scared to death to return back to Japan for fear his wife would slit his throat for losing Ranma. If only he could think of some way to bring his son back. But how? To be a good father he should go after him into the spring, but the glasses wearing martial artist wasn't about to risk his own neck over this. If only he could find someone dumb enough to go and retrieve the pony tailed boy…

At that moment Ryoga made his way into the hut. "Where is Saotome Ranma?" he demanded.

It took Genma a few seconds to recognize the boy but he soon realized that he was Ranma's stupid friend who got lost all the time. An idea slowly came to his mind.

Genma faced the younger fighter. "Hibiki, wasn't it? I'm Saotome Genma, Ranma's father. You remember me, right?"

Ryoga thought about it then nodded. He had met the man a few times while he and Ranma went to school.

Genma continued. "I assume that you've come to finish your fight. Unfortunately Ranma has once again run away from you."

Ryoga became furious at this. "What? That coward! How dare he run again!"

The fat martial artist went on. "We came to Jusenkyo in order to train but we learned that each spring was cursed. Anyone unlucky enough to fall in a spring will take the form of whatever drowned there last."

The lost boy was shocked. He thanked God that he didn't fall into one of those springs himself.

"Anyway, we also learned that among these magical springs was one that acted as a gateway to another world. Ranma, knowing that you would catch up to us, dove into that spring in the hopes of never having to face you again. I am very ashamed of my cowardly son."

The guide was extremely disgusted with his costumer's lies. "Sir, that not what happen!"

Genma waved his fist threateningly at the guide in order to shut him up.

Ryoga was shocked and angry. Ranma has gone to great lengths so that they could not finish the bread feud. The Saotome Heir had no honor.

Genma smirked. "Don't worry, Hibiki, I have a plan."

Saotome Genma was not a smart man. When it came to trickery and deceit the fat fighter was a genius but when it came to plans that didn't involve such aspects he was a fool. This is the same man he dumped his son into a pit of starving cats in order to learn a martial art technique. His plan to retrieve Ranma wasn't much smarter.

"This dumbest thing this one ever see in his life," the guided commented. The group was now standing around the spring in which Ranma had fallen into. "There no way it works. It too stupid! What's wrong with you?"

Genma ignored his guide as he tightened to rope around Ryoga. "Aright. We'll lower you into the spring while hold the rope so that when you find Ranma you can grab him and well pull you both up. This is a very, very long rope so even if he has a bit of a head start we still should be able to pull you back up."

A normal person would not agree to do this, but like Genma, Ryoga was very stupid. "Okay. Don't worry. I'll bring that coward back. But once I do we'll finish the Bread Feud. Don't get involved!"

Genma nodded. "Right. Well, what are you waiting for? Get going!"

And so, Ryoga took a plunge into the spring and, of course vanished.

Genma was dumbfounded as he starred at the rope which now looked as if it had been cut loose where it laid by the water. "Oops."

The guide just shook his head. "Sir, you is dumbest person this one has ever met. I think your son is better off wherever he is."

Ranma eyes twitched as he Ryoga finished his story. First of all he was angered to learn that Genma was the one who caused him to be stranded on this world. He had no idea of the magic behind Jusenkyo until now. Second he wondered who was dumber: His father or Ryoga.

Bulma too was disgusted by the stupidity of Ryoga for agreeing to do all of this. She also wondered if what the lost boy said about Ranma was true. She shrugged it off. Even though she didn't like the pig tailed boy she couldn't believe that he was cowardly considering the acts of bravery she had witnessed from him.

Goku hadn't really bothered to listen since he busy eating all the food he could get his hands on.

Ryoga, still angry at the memory, slammed his fist on the table. "Because of you, Saotome, I'm stuck o this crazy world! Animals are walking around talking and acting like humans and dinosaurs keep trying to kill me! It's insane! Because of you I have to spend the rest of my life stranded here!"

Ranma shook his head. Ryoga obviously didn't know about the Dragon Balls. He'd simply explain to the lost boy that they could find a way back home that way. "Look Ryoga…"

The bandana clad boy didn't let his rival finish as his rage he took over. He slammed his fist into the table again, this time breaking it in two. This caused Goku to lose his meal. "Enough talk! I'm challenging you again, Ranma!"

The pig tailed boy was on edge. He wouldn't back down from a fight of course but a duel with his old rival would only slow up the quest, not to mention that there was no real reason for them to engage in combat.

Goku on the other hand had just been interrupted during a meal. He wasn't happy. "Hey you, I was eating that!"

Ryoga turned to the boy and frowned. "Sorry, but revenge is far more important than your food!"

Goku scratched his head. "What's revenge?"

The lost boy just starred at the boy. "I don't have time for you. I have to send Ranma to hell!"

Now the monkey tailed boy didn't understand this completely but he knew this guy wanted to hurt Ranma. "So you wanna beat up Big Brother, eh? Well you gotta fight me first!"

Of course Ryoga took this the wrong way. He faced Ranma and yelled "You coward! Are you just going to hide behind this kid?"

Goku hopped from where he was sitting. "C'mon, I get bored with the talking parts. Let's fight!"

The lost boy sighed. This kid was really picking a fight with him. He might as well humor him. Once the monkey tailed boy realized that he punches wouldn't hurt him Ryoga would be free to finish off Ranma. "Alright kid. I'll you have the first hit."

Goku smiled brightly. "Wow, really? Thanks!" With that Goku put all his strength into a powerful blow.

Right before it hit, Ryoga wondered if it was a good idea to underestimate this seemingly defenseless boy.

The punch sent the lost boy crashing right through a nearby wall. Ryoga landed in the middle of the street and began rolling around in immense pain. Goku followed him through the hole hid opponent had just made.

Ranma looked at Bulma. "You got enough money to pay for that?"

Bulma had a rather distressed look on her face. 'Dad's not gonna be happy when I charge this to the Capsule Corp. account,' the teen genius thought.

Back outside Ryoga had picked himself up, still in pain as well as in shock after being hit insanely hard by that little kid. As Goku rushed his opponent a combination of emotion and reflex caused him to counter with his own strongest punch. This sent Goku flying several feet backwards. The monkey tailed boy crashed into a nearby mailbox, nearly destroying it.

Ryoga eyes widen in disbelief as he realized what he had done. "I just hit a defenseless little boy! How could I do such a thing? Forgive me!"

While the lost boy was busy screaming Goku had picked himself up and calmly walked over to where Ryoga was. He wore a slight smile. "Hey, that really hurt! You must be really strong, right?"

Ryoga wasn't sure what to say at this point. This boy had shrugged off his strongest punch like it was nothing. "What kind allies did Ranma make while he was here?"

The younger boy went into an offensive stance. "Heh, this is gonna be fun! I don't get to fight strong guys besides Big Brother that much!"

Ryoga decided then that this was not an ordinary kid. To hold back at all would cause him to suffer defeat to this child. "Fine, I won't hold back anymore!" The lost boy pulled his umbrella from his backpack (Which he had managed to hold on to) and began taking swings at his shorter opponent. Goku managed to dodge the swings but wasn't given an opportunity to counter himself. Growing impatient, the bandana clad youth put all his power into one huge swing. It lacked speed however so the spiky haired boy was able to easily leap over it. Landing behind his opponent, Goku pulled out a weapon of his own: the Nyoibo Staff.

Ryoga turned around to face his opponent only to find out that was a strategic mistake. "Do you stuff, stick!" Goku yelled as his staff extended right into the gut of the lost boy. This caused the older boy to be sent flying several feet in the air. However he was hardly at a disadvantage at this point. The fanged fighter removed several of his bandanas (It seemed he had many to spare) and hurled them at the younger boy.

Goku, sensing that these projectiles were dangerous, used his staff to block each one of the bandanas. Ryoga had in the meantime landed gracefully and unharmed on the ground. His emotions running wild, the lost boy launched himself in an all or nothing attack. The monkey tailed boy was prepared. As his opponent launched a punch Goku countered with his signature attack.

Blocking Ryoga's punch with his fist Goku shouted "Rock!"

Goku then poked the lost boy in the eyes. "Scissors!

Finally he slammed a powerful open palmed fist at Ryoga's face. "Paper!"

As Ryoga slipped into unconsciousness he cursed Ranma, for this was all his fault.

Ranma approached his smaller friend and looked to where Ryoga lay. "That was my fight, Goku."

The spiky haired boy just shrugged. "You got to fight the last one. It was my turn."

The pig tailed boy sighed. "I think it may be best to leave him here. If he wakes up while we're on the road he might just attack us again. Stupid jerk, we should be on the same side."

Bulma had come out of the restaurant by this time. She faced Ranma with an unreadable expression. "Are you really from another world?" She asked. Ranma nodded.

The teen genius gave a bright smile. "It's starting to make sense now! That's why you wanted the Dragon Balls! That was the only way you could get home!"

Ranma again nodded. "So now that you understand, will you help me out and let me use the wish for myself?"

Without losing her smile Bulma responded "Not a chance."

Ranma fell to the ground head first. "Why the hell not? I need it a lot more than you do!"

The greenish blue haired girl lifted her nose at the boy. "This is my Dragon Ball quest, aright! You wouldn't even know anything about it if we hadn't crossed paths. I'm wishing for the perfect boyfriend! You'll just have to wait until next time."

"You damn slut!"

"Don't call me that, you jerk!"

"Slut!"

"Jerk!"

"Slut!"

"Jerk!"

Ranma groaned at this. It seemed that he and Bulma would be having the same argument until Shenlong was actually summoned.

As the two teens argued back and forth all the way to the car, Goku clenched his stomach. "I'm still hungry."

Several hours later….

Ryoga awoke to find himself still in the middle of the street. He's eye twitched as he remembered that he was beaten by that child. As he picked up his backpack and walked in the opposite direction as Ranma and his friends the lost boy could be heard grumblingly: "Ranma, this is not over! I'll defeat you and your little monkey friend if it's the last thing that I do!"

To be continued…

Preview for Next Chapter!

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. I can't believe it; someone beat us to the next Dragon Ball! We managed to follow the guy into the desert, but while there we meet this bandit named Yamcha!

Yamcha: Hand over your valuables. Or would you rather taste my Wolf Fang Fist?

Ranma: You wanna fight, pal? I'll give ya a fight! Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Battle in the Desert! Ranma VS Yamcha!"

Goku: Does that mean I don't get to fight this time?

Author's Note: Alright, another chapter complete. This story turned out to be pretty fun to write. Anyway starting next chapter we'll see the presence of Ranma (And Ryoga) having a major impact on the Dragon Ball universe. As you may have guessed from the preview Oolong will not be making an appearance. Of course that will be explained later, so you'll just have to wait until Chapter 4 is done. Speaking of Ryoga, expect to see him again very soon (Because I like the lost boy).

Updated Notes: Ironically during these early chapters I suspect I was writing them and uploading much too quickly, which is the opposite problem I have these days. In any event I've cleaned up a lot of the spelling and grammar errors in this chapter and it should be much easier to read now.


	4. Battle in the Desert!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (And Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; me am poor.

**Chapter 4**

**Battle in the Desert!**

**Ranma VS Yamcha!**

**The story thus far:** A sudden display of rebellion against Genma caused Ranma to be tossed into a random spring at Jusenkyo. Unlike the other pools there this one turned out to be a one way portal to the world of Son Goku. Now, teamed up with the teen genius Bulma and the Monkey King himself, Saotome Ranma begins his quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls…and a way back to his own world!

**Last Chapter:** Having been tricked by Saotome Genma into following Ranma through the "Gate-Way Spring" Hibiki Ryoga finally was able to catch up his hated foe who he blamed for his being stuck on this bizarre world. However Son Goku challenged the lost boy before he got a chance for revenge. After meeting defeat from the monkey tailed boy Ryoga swore revenge on both Ranma and Goku.

"The ball is definitely moving," Bulma noted to her fellow Dragon Ball Hunters. It had been several days since they had encountered Ryoga. Since then they had gone back to their search for the magical spheres. As their car sped near where the next Dragon Ball was supposed to be they couldn't help but notice that the sphere they were after had started moving southwest.

"So does this mean that someone else is collecting the Dragon Balls?" Ranma asked.

Bulma nodded. "It's very possible. The Dragon Balls aren't common knowledge, but if someone were to discover their secret they wouldn't hesitate to go out looking for them." She adjusted her radar. "It looks like whoever this guy is he's heading in the direction of the next ball…at Fry Pan Mountain."

Neither Ranma nor Goku knew the true danger of Fry Pan Mountain so they didn't pay close attention to Bulma's declaration. "So now what?" The pig tailed boy asked. "Do we follow this guy?"

The teen genius shook her head. "I rather try to find out who we're chasing after first. According the map the place where the Dragon Ball was resting was in a small town not far from here. We should go there and ask around about it."

They found the town without much difficulty. It was a small and rural village. There seemed to be a huge celebration going on. The entire place was filled with balloons and ribbons. There was a huge banner in the middle of town that read "So Long, Oolong!"

As the three youths approached the city Goku couldn't help but notice everyone's attitude. "Wow, everyone looks really happy!"

Upon entering the town they were greeted by a rather young boy. He was sporting a huge smile. The thing that Ranma noticed right away was the leopard skin bandana the kid was wearing around his head. "Hi there," the kid greeted. "You guys travelers?"

They nodded.

"Well you picked a great time to come visit our town. We're celebrating!"

"Celebrating what?" Goku asked.

"The defeat of Oolong the Terrible!"

Ranma shook his head. "Huh? You guys don't like oolong tea?"

The boy shook his head. "No, not oolong tea, Oolong the Terrible. He's a shape shifting demon that terrorized our village for months. A stranger came to town two days ago and beat him up!"

Bulma was starting to put two and two together. "By any chance was the stranger looking for something called a Dragon Ball?"

The boy shook his head. "I don't know what that is. All he wanted was some food and a place to stay for the night. In return he beat up Oolong for us. It turned out that the stupid monster was nothing more than a little piglet. Can you believe it? The little jerk escaped later though."

The teen genius scratched his head. "So he didn't happen to take any orange spheres that were lying around, id he?"

The boy thought about it for a minute bore snapping his fingers. "Oh yeah! Now I remember! Grandma wanted to give him a reward for helping our village so she gave him a family heirloom. It was a pretty orange ball with stars in it!"

Both Ranma and Bulma sighed. Someone really had taken the Dragon Ball. Luckily it seemed like the guy didn't know what he had even though he seemed to be traveling in the direction of the next ball.

The little boy by this time had become excited as he remembered the stranger who had saved them from Oolong. He began hoping up and down as he imitated the battle. "The stupid pig was trying to scare him and was like 'I'm the strongest guy in the world.' But Ryoga was like 'Oh yeah?' And then Oolong was like 'Ummm, yeah.' And then…"

Ranma cut him off. "Wait, did you say Ryoga?"

The boy nodded. "Yep! He said his name was Hibiki Ryoga. He had this cool bandana on! He even gave me one just like it. When I grow up I wanna be strong like him!"

The Saotome Heir pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn it, why did it have to be Ryoga again!"

Bulma too was upset. "How could be possibly beat us here? We left him in that town days ago! There's no way he could have gotten here faster than us."

"The guy covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time when he's lost, and he's _always _lost," Ranma informed her.

Goku spoke up for the first time in a while. "Does his mean we have to fight him again?"

The Chinese clothed youth shrugged. "Can't be helped I guess. But the guy can't even beat Goku in a fight. It won't be that hard beating the Dragon Ball out of 'em."

Meanwhile, somewhere in the desert…

Ryoga was dead tired. Somehow he had not only managed to wander away from the village he had saved but he had also come across a seemingly endless desert. He estimated he had been roaming the wasteland for close to day. The blazing sun was taking a toll on him, and even with his great stamina he knew that it just be a matter of time before he'd just roll over and die due to a heat stroke.

"Damn…you…Saotome…" he said to no one in particular. "You'll…pay…for my…suffering!"

The eternal lost boy would continue to walk in circles in the desert for two more hours before he would give up and collapse.

As Ryoga lay there he was approached a mysterious long haired fellow…

* * *

Sometime later Ranma and his friends found themselves speeding in a motor boat across a rather large river. They decided that it was best to try to find the next Dragon Ball and worry about Ryoga later. He would be pretty easy to track after all.

Ranma, who decide it was best if he sat in the back seat with Goku, lazily asked where they were headed again.

"I already told you," Bulma angrily replied. "We're going to Fry-Pan Mountain. Maybe if you weren't such a dumb jock it would stock and you wouldn't keep asking."

The pig tailed boy's eye twitched at that. "At least I don't throw myself at anything I think is cute! The way you slobber over guys is disgusting."

"How come you guys always fight?" Goku asked, interrupted their latest exchange of insults.

"Because we hate each other," both Ranma and Bulma replied at the same time. They gave each other a quick glance then quickly turned their heads, both with a mutual expression of disgust on their face.

Goku just shook his head. "I don't understand either of you."

A short while later the three young travelers reached the shore. Ranma stretched out his limbs while his unofficial little brother relieved himself by the river.

The monkey tailed boy sighed as he thought about everything that had happen. 'They said they hated each, but that's because they both wanna wish for something different from the Dragon Balls. Maybe if I think real hard I can come up with a way to help 'em both out.' Unfortunately thinking was not one of Goku's strong suits.

His thoughts ended up being interrupted by the glass shattering scream of Bulma. Both he and Ranma turned to their companion to see what was wrong this time.

The pig tailed martial artist gave her an odd look. "What is it this time? You break a nail or something?"

Bulma punched the pig tailed boy atop his head. "No, I can't find my capsule case, stupid! Why don't you and 'Clueless Boy' go hop in the water and find it!"

Ranma rubbed his poor head while at the same time frowning at the teen genius. "Don't be stupid. The rivers way too big, we'd never find it."

The greenish blue haired girl sank to her knees. "No house…no car…no bike. I'm totally helpless!"

Goku scratched his head. "What's wrong with walking?"

Bulma was obviously distressed and angry. "NOT EVERYONE HAS A FLYING CLOUD, YA KNOW!"

Ranma sighed. Bulma really was a spoiled brat. "Get a hold of yourself princess. Walking ain't that bad. Me and Pop used to walk around all over the place."

The teen genius sighed. "How could it have come to this? The beautiful and brilliant heroine forced to wander the world with nothing but the clothes on her back." With that Bulma began to weep. Somehow Ranma and Goku didn't feel any sympathy for her.

A bit later the group of travelers found themselves walking in the desert as trying to go around it would have taken too much time. The desert itself had strange rock formations that Ranma did not recognize, but due to the fact that he was on an alien world he didn't give it too much thought. However the strange rocks could provide shade so they wouldn't need to spend all their time underneath a blazing sun.

Bulma was lagging behind, out of breath and exhausted. Unlike her martial artist companions she was not built for hiking. She was using a stick she found for support. "I'm tired…I'm hungry…"

Goku rolled his eyes at the girl. "How pathetic. We've barley done any walking."

Bulma became annoyed at that comment. "I'm a city girl, remember. I'm not a feral manly man like you two idiots." With that the teen genius sat down next to one of the rock formations gasping for air. "I need to rest. I can't go on."

Ranma shook his head. "C'mon princess, how d'ya expect to get the rest of the Dragon Balls when you can't even handle a little walking?"

The greenish blue haired girl ignored her comrade and began throwing a tantrum and the ground as she was a spoiled five year old who couldn't have the one thing they really wanted. "It's not fair! I'm hungry, I need a bath and I can't sleep without a bed!" Despite saying that after about five minutes of screaming she wore herself out and fainted.

The pig tailed martial artist rolled his eyes. "I guess we might as well rest too."

Goku nodded. "I'm hungry."

And so the two martial artists sat down beside their unconscious friend.

Close by, from within a fortress constructed within one of the strange rocks, a bandit found himself somewhat conflicted.

Yamcha stood above his "captured prey" who lay on his bed. A look of worry covered the bandit's face. Not for concern of the young man he found unconscious outside but for himself. When he found the bandana clad youth in the desert, barely alive, his first reaction was to steal his back pack (Which was incredibly heavy for some reason) and leave him there to die. This is what any good desert bandit would do.

However the long haired youth known only as Yamcha had instead brought the boy to his lair and was currently treating him. As the bandit turned his back on the fanged boy he cursed himself. Was he going soft? Months ago he would have stolen from the would-be corpse without hesitation.

The master of the Wolf Fang Fist had little time to ponder this as his trusty ally, the blue cat-like Pu'ar ran into the room. While the little creature wasn't strong he had the ability to shape shift which was important to Yamcha's line of work.

"Lord Yamcha," Pu'ar said excitingly. "We've got potential victims out there."

The bandit smiled evilly. This was his chance to prove to himself that he was still the ruthless thief he had always been. "Heh, it's been awhile since our last prey."

* * *

Ranma's stomach growled viciously. It had been a while since they last ate. He ignored it for now and turned to his monkey tailed friend. "Looks like we'll all be trying to fit into my little tent tonight, Goku."

The shorter boy scratched his head. "But Big Brother, what about that house on wheels you bought that one time?"

The Saotome Heir froze. He had complete forgotten about the mobile home he had purchased in the town where they had met Ryoga. They could have easily used it to get through the desert. However, having the old Saotome pride, Ranma simply said. "Well…I figured Bulma could use the exercise. But if you insist I guess we can use it."

As Ranma dug through his pack, searching for the lone capsule, the sound of a vehicle began piercing the air. Both martial artists turned to find a young man, about Ranma's age, with flowing untamed hair, and carrying a large sword, speeding toward them on what resembled some sort of jet ski.

"Geez, now what?" Ranma asked right before the vehicle came to a stop right in front of them.

The long haired boy leapt off his "ski." By the way he carried himself Ranma could tell he was a martial artist of some kind, though he couldn't be sure of his skill level until he saw him fight. "Greetings. I am the Yamcha the bandit."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Bandit, huh? So I guess you're here to steal our stuff, right?"

Yamcha smiled. "That's right, and if you value your lives you shall relieve yourselves of your valuables and capsules."

The pig tailed boy frowned slightly. "Man, I hate guys who use their skills to pick on people. Hey pal, don't you know: It's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak, not steal from 'em."

The young bandit nearly laughed. "I'm not about to engage in a conversation of morals and ethics with you. Just hand over your valuables and I'll let you live."

Ranma gave him a cocky grin. "I guess you're gonna have to kill me if ya can."

The long haired youth smiled again. "Have it your way!" With that he took a swing at his new enemy with his sword. To his surprise the pig tailed boy easily leapt high above the attack, flipping backwards.

"I'm Saotome Ranma of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." He gracefully landed a few feet away and quickly went into a stance Yamcha was unfamiliar with. "And I accept your challenge."

Goku clapped his hands. "Big Brother, that was cool!"

Yamcha launched toward his opponent slashing viciously with his sword. This time he was serious. Though Ranma managed to avoid the attacks he wasn't getting any opening for a counter attack. This guy was good; the pig tailed boy could freely admit this.

"Brother, catch," Goku yelled as he tossed his Nyoibo Staff in the direction of Ranma

Ranma caught the stick and quickly used it to block an overhead attack from Yamcha's sword. The Nyoibo was magically unbreakable and thus was able to hold of the attack. Pushing the bandit backwards the pig tailed boy drilled the staff into to ground. "Extend!" He used the staff to propel himself into the air higher then he himself could jump.

Thrown off by the magic staff Yamcha was unprepared by the aerial attack of his opponent. A strong kick to the head later, the young bandit found himself on the ground struggling to get up. "Damn," the bandit cursed. He turned towards Son Goku. "That staff…was he legendary Nyoibo! Where did you get it from, kid?"

Goku gave him a strange look. "Huh? Well, my grandpa gave it to me."

Yamcha nodded. By this time he had managed to stand up. Ranma had given him enough space to do so. "I see. I've heard that only one person commands that staff. Tell me: What was your grandfather's name?"

"Son Gohan," Goku cheerfully said.

The long haired fighter narrowed his eyes. "It was said that Son Gohan was an unrivaled master in a host of various martial arts. To think that he had a grandson…" Yamcha turned back to Ranma. "Are you related to Son Gohan as well?"

Ranma shook his head. "Nope. I just hang out with Goku." The pig tailed boy tossed aside Goku's staff. "I hate weapons. Let's finish this fist to fist like real martial artists."

Yamcha smiled. He then tossed his own sword to the ground. From the vehicle he had arrived from Pu'ar called out "Lord Yamcha, what are you doing?"

"I like this one's style. I hope that he can provide me with a worthy challenge," he replied without looking away from his opponent. He went to his own style's stance. "Well Saotome Ranma of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, shall we continue?"

Ranma went into his own offensive stance. "Anytime, pal."

Both martial artists smirked, confidant in their own abilities. Their auras could faintly be seen as both of them were burning in anticipation of a good fight. As both fighters charged at one another Goku's stomach growled. "I'm hungry."

Both Ranma and Yamcha collided with blazing speed that no normal person could ever hope to achieve. At first glance they seemed perfectly even. They met each other blow for blow, strike for strike. However as the fight went on Ranma began memorizing Yamcha's pattern of fighting. The pig tailed boy's ability to adapt quickly enabled him to take the advantage.

Yamcha, after a while, found himself being struck by an incredible punch that sent him flying into a nearby rock.

Before Ranma could start bragging, Pu'ar raced to his friend's side. Seeing the cat like creature made Ranma freeze in his tracks. "C-C-CAT!" It was all he could do to keep from fainting; however he did accidentally reveal his secret to a very dangerous opponent.

Goku looked on, worry expressed on his face. "Big Brother…"

"Hm," Yamcha said as he stood up. "He seems to be afraid of cats. How pathetic."

Pu'ar almost made a comment about Yamcha's hidden fear but thought against it. Instead he stated "He's defenseless now."

The young bandit smiled. "Indeed. I'll finish him off with my Wolf Fang Fist."

The long haired fighter took up another offensive stance. Those witnessing the fight could hear wolfs howling in the distance.

"Roga Fufu Ken!" Yamcha suddenly launched at the petrified Ranma at speed that even Goku could barely keep up with. He hit his opponent with devastating punches and kicks that no normal human could stand up against.

Added to the fact that Ranma was very distracted after having seen a cat, the pig tailed fighter was at the mercy of the Wolf Fang Fist.

"Brother!" Goku yelled. He knew he had to help Ranma, but as he was so hungry he wasn't sure how long he could last against the formidable fighter. None the less he couldn't leave Ranma to die.

Luckily by this time, Bulma had chosen to wake up. "Huh? What's going on?" She asked, not fully awake.

It was then they saw each other. When Yamcha and Bulma's eyes met it as like time had stopped. Music played in the background, birds were singing, and little hearts were floating around.

Then Yamcha fell to the ground, frozen with fear. "Lord Yamcha!" Pu'ar yelled as he raced to his master's side.

"P-p-pu'ar, l-l-lets retreat f-f-for n-now," Yamcha spat out. With that the two bandits took off.

Bulma suddenly became excited after viewing the rather handsome would-be killer. "Wow, what a hunk. Did you get his name? An address?" She turned to Ranma, who was being helped by Goku. "Geez, what happened to you? You look terrible."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Your new boyfriend was beating on me for a while. If you hadn't scared him off I would have countered that stupid Dog Tooth Punch or whatever he called it, no problem."

Goku scratched his head. "It didn't look like you were going to counter, Big Brother."

"Ah shut up, monkey butt," Ranma replied.

Bulma had a dreaming look in her eyes. She seemed to have ignored most of what they were talking about. "That cute guy must have been intimidated by my beauty and ran off."

The pig tailed martial artist gave her an odd look. "More likely you scared him off with you weird looking face," he mocked.

The teen genius erupted at this. "What did you say?"

Son Goku shook his head as his older companions began throwing insults back and forth. It never seemed to end with those two.

A little later, at Yamcha's fortress…

The bandit was currently cursing himself for his weakness of girls. It had been like this all his life. Whenever he sees a pretty lady he freezes and is unable to function properly.

Pu'ar held a sympathetic look. "I wish you'd get that problem looked into."

"But girls are just so darn scary," was the reply.

"Well, at least we know that the guy has a weakness too," Pu'ar reminded his master.

The bandit smirked. "Yeah, even though he's no match for my Wolf Fang Fist. But just in case I end up in a two on one situation with Saotome and Son Gohan's grandson you can step in and scare him like before."

"…Did you say 'Saotome'?" A somewhat weary, though emotional, voice interrupted the bandits' scheming. They turned toward the doorway to the bedroom to see the bandana clad, yellow sweatshirt wearing kid that Yamcha had found early standing there. His eyes were burning with passion as he looked on to his "saviors."

Yamcha raised an eyebrow. "You know, you shouldn't be walking around."

Ryoga growled at the bandit. "Shut up! Tell me, what do you have to do with Saotome Ranma?"

The long haired fighter was a bit surprised to hear that. "You know that Saotome? I just fought with him."

The lost boy clenched his fist. "Tell me where he is! I'll make him pay for all he has done to me. Because of him I've seen hell!"

After hearing this Yamcha smirked. "Don't be hasty, friend. We haven't even introduced ourselves yet. My name is Yamcha, and that's Pu'ar."

"…Hibiki Ryoga," was the reply.

It seemed that Yamcha had gained a new ally.

To be continued…

Preview for next chapter:

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. Damn it, not only does that jerk Yamcha show up in the middle of the night looking for a fight but he also has that idiot Ryoga with him! Plus they know my one weakness!

Yamcha: We also know about the Dragon Balls. Hand them over!

Ranma: Ah man, can it possibly get any worse?

Goku: Hey Big Brother, why are you acting like a cat?

Ranma: Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "The Deadly Alliance! Roga Fufu Ken VS Neko-Ken!" See you there.

Goku: Do I get to fight yet?


	5. The Deadly Alliance!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (And Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; while I have lots of money it's mostly of the Monopoly kind.

**Chapter 5**

**The Deadly Alliance! **

**Roga Fufu Ken VS Neko-Ken!**

**The story thus far:** A sudden display of rebellion against Genma caused Ranma to be tossed into a random spring at Jusenkyo. Unlike the other pools there this one turned out to be a one way portal to the world of Son Goku. Now, teamed up with the teen genius Bulma and the Monkey King himself, Saotome Ranma begins his quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls…and a way back to his own world!

**Last Chapter:** After losing most of their capsules Ranma, Goku and Bulma tried to make their way through the desert leading to Fry Pan Mountain on foot. Unfortunately they ran into a desert bandit named Yamcha. He managed to fight Ranma to stand still but the fight was called off due to their respective fears (Cats and girls). Now the long haired fighter plots with another rival of the pig tailed boy…

Ranma finally used the capsule he had forgotten he had bought earlier, thus the group now had a nice (Well, not really) mobile home, complete with two floors. The revelation that he had it in his possession all this time did not sit well with Bulma. She of course got angry, yelled a lot, and reminded her two partners that they were lucky to have the chance to travel with such a beautiful and talented girl like her. Same old, same old.

After a while of listening to her jabbering the group all travelers found themselves sitting around a table with their temporary home. It had turned out that the house was full of food, so Goku happily devoured as much as possible. Ranma couldn't help but stare at his friend's horrible eating habits. He could admit that he also had horrible table manners (It couldn't be helped being raised by Genma and all) but even he could be embarrassed by Goku and his black hole of a mouth.

"Geez Goku, can't you slow down or something," the older boy asked.

Without waiting until his mouth was empty the boy replied "But I'm hungry!"

At this Bulma slammed her fist into the table. "I'm sick of both you! You're both rude and uncultured! You've done nothing to help the Dragon Ball hunt and your always screwing up! You lose all our capsules and chase you always that super cute Yamcha guy!"

Goku looked at the girl. "But you're the one who lost the capsules."

"And you're the one who scared Yamcha off," Ranma added.

The teen genius rolled her eyes as she stood up from the table. "Don't bother me with the details. I'm going to take a shower then I'm going to sleep. I expect my clothes to be clean when I wake up."

The pig tailed boy snorted in disgust. "Unless the clothes can magically wash themselves you'd better forget about it."

As soon as he said that Ranma found himself starring at the barrel of a machine gun. "Err, what I meant to say was that your clothes will be cleaned by morning."

Bulma smiled cheerfully as the gun seemingly vanished. "Well then, I'll be going." With that she left the two martial artists alone.

Ranma breathed a sigh relief. "Goddamn, where the hell does she get all those guns?"

Goku too was distraught over the situation. "Man, what's her problem anyway?"

His pig tailed friend shrugged. "Must be that time of the month."

Dangerously close to Ranma's mobile house, Yamcha and Ryoga were currently planning out their attack. The lost boy felt a bit strange working with the likes of this desert bandit. Normally the bandana clad youth wouldn't associate with people who used their martial art skills to hurt others.

However when it came to Ranma, Ryoga tended to lose sight of his principles.

"We'll run in and take out the little monkey tailed one first." Yamcha was very gung ho about this operation. "While we, ahem, relieve them of their capsules, you can have your fight with Saotome. Pu'ar will turn into one of the boys in order to distract the girl. If all goes well we can both get what we want."

Ryoga simply nodded. Even if it was to gain revenge on his hated foe he still disliked that he was working with Yamcha.

The two fighters, along with Pu'ar, carefully made their way toward the vehicle. They were undetected. Upon reaching their destination they crept beside an open window. Both Ryoga and Yamcha looked into it, hoping to see the positions of the enemy

What they found was a naked Bulma who was showering.

Yamcha eyes bugged out of his skull while Ryoga unleashed a massive nose bleed.

"W-wrong…w-window," Yamcha muttered.

They moved on to the next open window. This time they found that they were looking for: Ranma and Goku.

"Raaaanmaaa!" Ryoga silently growled. Pu'ar motioned him to be quiet as their enemies were talking.

"Man, if it wasn't for the Dragon Balls I wouldn't deal with that crazy spoiled brat," they heard Ranma say. "But as long as I get my wish in the end I'll deal with it."

Yamcha raised an eyebrow when that was said. "Dragon Balls? Wish?"

"We have four, right?" They heard Goku ask.

"Yeah, so we just need three then we can summon Shenlong," was the reply that heard.

Yamcha, after hearing this motioned for Pu'ar and Ryoga to follow him away from their enemy's car. Once reaching a safe distance the newly formed team began discussing what Ranma and Goku were discussing.

"Did you hear that?" Ryoga asked the two bandits. "That's why they've been traveling around. They're searching for 'Dragon Balls,' whatever those are."

Yamcha nodded. "They mentioned something about having four and needing three more to get their wish. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ryoga nodded. "If we take the ones they have and we find the others…"

"I'll never have to be afraid of girls again!"

"I'll never get lost again!"

Pu'ar gave them both a strange look. "You know Lord Yamcha; if you could get any wish you wanted couldn't you wish for world domination or something like?"

Yamcha rolled his eyes at his cat like friend. "I have no use for the world, Pu'ar. However this weakness of mine is just silly. And I'm sure Ryoga here wants to get rid of that lousy sense of direction of his just as bad. I mean, he wandered our fortress for four hours looking for the bathroom. That's just pathetic."

Ryoga nodded. "That's right." After a few seconds his expression changed to that of anger. "Hey wait a minute, shut up! I'm not that bad!"

As the group made plans to steal the Dragon Balls they manage to overlook several important facts: #1) Shenlong only grants one wish so only one of them would get what they wanted. #2) It seemed that Ryoga failed to realize that he could use the Dragon Balls to wish himself home. Unfortunately the lost boy was only slightly smarter than a pile of bricks and thus wasn't thinking about that.

Back in Ranma's mobile home the pig tailed boy decided he needed some alone time. So of course he went onto the roof. As the Saotome Heir lay there, watching the stars, his thoughts drifted on his father. He had agreed to go on this adventure so he could use the Dragon Balls to find a way back to Genma, not realizing at the time that he was on another world. In fact it was the fat fool's fault that he was suck here in the first place!

Why did Ranma want to go back to Genma anyway? The whole reason he and his father had the fight that led to the pig tailed martial artist to take an impromptu dip in the springs was because he realized just how much his life had been ruined because of the glasses wearing fool.

"Damn old man," Ranma muttered. What was the point of him going back to his own world? There was the mother he never knew, but he wasn't 100% sure that she was even alive. Besides, he's done okay on this world. He's made some friends, made a few rivals (Maybe that wasn't something he should have been bragging about), and got a lot a training in. He was a much stronger fighter then he was when he first arrived, due mostly to his new sparring partner.

The Saotome Heir shrugged. He was thinking way too hard about something that wasn't important for the moment. What he needed to do was think of a way to beat Yamcha. His Wolf Fang Fist was a weapon to be reckoned with. "He seems to be using his chi to increase his strength and speed. The Anything Goes Style had something like that, but we use it mostly for leaping attacks. If I can use that principle the same way that jerk Yamba or whatever does, then I can easily counter that stupid move of his."

Ranma patted himself on the back for being such a genius of martial arts. As he thought of ways to amplify the theory he began to drift off to sleep.

Goku was also pretty tired. He decided that he might as well go to bed now since there was nothing to do and he was full. Ranma had said he wanted some "Me Time", whatever that meant. The monkey tailed boy, like his "big brother" had a lot on his mind. Such as how he could help his two companions get along better. So far he had come up with nothing. Not too surprising considering that he normally doesn't think too much.

Before Goku could go to bed the door to the motor home burst open as Yamcha, Ryoga and Pu'ar ran in. "Huh? That bandit guy again?" He took a closer look at the bandana clad youth. "Hey, I know you! You're Hyoga Ribiki, right?"

"That's Hibiki Ryoga, you twit!"

The monkey tailed boy rubbed his chin. "Oh yeah. But why are you hanging out with this guy? Are you a bad guy too?"

Before Ryoga could make a speech about how the only real "bad guy" was Ranma, Yamcha interrupted. "Actually we're both good guys. It was just a misunderstanding before and, well, we'd like to say we're sorry. We have some candy if you'd like some."

Goku, being the naïve child that is, happily walked over to the two martial artists expecting a delicious candy treat only to find himself receiving the two strongest blows to the head that Yamcha and Ryoga could muster. Even with the boy's great stamina even could not stand up to that.

Yamcha smiled. "He's out cold. Alright, the girl and Saotome are both obviously not here. We should find Ranma and take him out first then if we see the girl Pu'ar can lure her away so that we'll be free to take the Dragon Balls!"

Ryoga also had a smile on. A wicked one. Denying Ranma of his hopes and dreams was almost as satisfying as beating the tar out of him.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" All three would be thieves turned to see Ranma standing outside the door. He had been awakened by the sounds of a struggle. "Ah crap, don't tell me the bandit and the lost boy are working together?"

Ryoga began laughing evilly. "That's right, Ranma! Now give us you Dragon Balls! We know you have them in here!" Yamcha nodded in agreement.

The pig tailed fighter narrowed his eyes. It seemed that Ryoga did know about the Dragon Balls after all and had recruited Yamcha to help him take them by force. "Ryoga you idiot! We're probably gonna wish for the same thing!"

This statement confused the fanged fighter. "Huh? You want to wish for me to have a good sense of direction as well?"

Upon hearing this Ranma face faulted. It seemed that Ryoga was even dumber than he thought.

"Enough talk!" Yamcha bellowed. "We're going to defeat you without even lifting a finger. Sic 'em Pu'ar!"

With that the flying cat creature leapt onto Ranma's face. "Boo!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The pig tailed martial artist, plagued by his fear of cats, ran in fearful circles around the mobile home. All the while Yamcha and Ryoga stood there laughing.

In Ranma's mind there was an inner conflict.

Pride: "What the hell are you doing? Go over there and kick those guys' asses!

Fear: "But there's a cat out there! Cats are scary!"

Pride "Look at it like this: Have you've ever seen a cat like this before? Do cats fly? Do they talk? Hell no! This is just some weird other worldly species that sorta looks like a cat!"

Fear: "When you say it like that…"

Ranma at that moment tore the merciless Pu'ar off his face, much to the shock of his two rivals. "Bwahaha, you fools truly thought a little kitty c-c-cat would scare me?" He began laughing like a lunatic and for some reason his eyes were crossed.

Yamcha refused to accept this. "So you'll not afraid of cats, huh? Well how about a tiger? Pu'ar, do it!"

The cat like shape shifter smirked as it was now his time to shine. "I'm on it." The little fellow seemingly exploded into a cloud of smoke. When it cleared Pu'ar had been replaced by a ferocious looking tiger. While that sort of big cat is scary enough to the average joe, to Ranma is like watch a monstrous demon from the deepest parts of hell.

The pig tailed boy didn't scream nor did he cry. He simply sank to knees and lowered his head not moving an inch.

Pu'ar-tiger looked back his master. "Lord Yamcha, I think I may have broken him."

Before anyone could respond, Ranma made the strangest noise: "Meoooow!"

All three would be thieves took a step back as the Saotome heir began crawling on all fours. "What sort of game are you playing, Saotome," Ryoga demanded.

Ranma responded by pouncing on Pu'ar-Tiger.

"PU'AR!" Yamcha screamed as his friend suddenly fell into danger.

Ryoga too became angry. He knew that Pu'ar's strength didn't increase when he transformed. Ranma could seriously hurt the little guy. Of course the bandana clad fighter did not realize that Ranma wasn't in a human state of mind. "Ranma you bastard! How dare you pick on someone weaker than yourself!" With that the lost boy charged at the not cat like pig tailed boy.

Ranma-neko starred at the boy as he ran toward him. This human was a threat and of course he had to protect himself. The lost boy attempted a punch but the cat quickness of the Chinese clothes clad martial artist easily evaded the attack. He also responded with a fierce look swipe. Ryoga's shirt was suddenly in shreds.

'Such speed,' the lost by thought to himself as he slowly backed away from his hated enemy. 'I couldn't even see him move.'

Before Ryoga had a chance to do anything Ranma-neko leapt on the unprepared fighter. Yamcha looked on in horror as his new partner in crime became the unwilling chew toy of the pig tailed "cat."

The desert bandit was now scared. Ranma's eyes showed no trace of humanity. Whether this was some trick or the pig tailed fighter truly had become a berserker it was obvious that this was a different person then the one he fought earlier.

It didn't really matter. Yamcha was a confident fighter. He knew that no matter how strong the opponent he could easily defeat them with his invincible Wolf Fang Fist.

Once Ranma was done chewing on Ryoga he tossed the lost boy aside and focused his attention of the last intruder. He growled at the long haired martial artist.

"I see you want to feel my Wolf Fang Fist again," Yamcha said to the fighter currently on all fours. As the wolves howled in the background the young bandit took up his signature stance. "Roga Fufu Ken!"

With an added speed boost Yamcha charged his opponent…only to suddenly find himself being swatted away by Ranma's paws…err, fist.

Yamcha tired to stand up but alas the cat like Ranma was already on top of him. He didn't even have time to scream. Luckily for him he fainted before Ranma could inflict any of the real pain.

Once all of the threats had been taken care Ranma-neko wandered back into the mobile home in the hopes of finding some place safe.

* * *

Goku woke up on the floor in a rather uncomfortable position the next morning. The last thing he remembered was Yamcha and Ryoga...! The spiky haired youth quickly stood up and looked around. No sign of either of them.

The monkey tailed boy gave a small sigh of relief. Nothing looked stolen or broken. It seemed like all those two did was attack him. But why would they go through all that if they weren't going to steal something.

Then it hit him: Maybe they were after Ranma! The older boy was indeed missing! Could they have beaten him up while he was unconscious?

"RANMA YOU PERVERT!"

Goku breathed easier when he heard that. If Ranma was alive enough to anger Bulma then everything must be fine. As if on cue the martial artist in question suddenly made an appearance via tumbling down the stairs. He looked as if he can be mangled by a bear. His joints were bending in ways they shouldn't and his clothes were torn.

"Big Brother, what happened to you?" Goku asked. "Did Yamcha and Ryoga get you after all?"

Ranma frowned as he picked himself up. "Damn that Bulma! She's pretty damn strong when she's super pissed."

Goku rolled his eyes. "What happened this time?"

Ranma slightly blushed as he remembered how he woke curled in ball snuggling against Bulma in her bed. When the girl woke up find to him in her bed she went ballistic. "Um, I called her fat. You know how chicks hate being called fat, heh heh heh."

'How did I end up in her bed?' Ranma asked himself. 'The last thing I remember was those jerks trying to scare me with those c-c-c…those things. I wonder…did I use the Neko-Ken?'

Meanwhile, back at Yamcha's lair he Pu'ar and Ryoga were currently licking their wounds. Ranma had given them a nice thrashing last night but that did not keep them from their desired goal.

"I believe we've been going about this the wrong way," Yamcha said. Bandages covered the numerous scratches he received from Ranma-neko. "Perhaps instead of trying to attack head on we should let them collect the Dragon Balls for us."

Ryoga scratched his head. "But if we do that won't they make their wish?" As always the lost boy was, well, lost.

The bandit smirked. "We'll follow them. And once they collect them all we'll strike from the shadows. My friend, we'll soon be cured of our respective weaknesses."

Ryoga smirked when he heard this. "You got lucky last time Ranma, but once I foil whatever wish you had your heart set on I shall send you to hell! You're day of reckoning is at hand, Saotome! Bwahahaha!"

As Ryoga mindless laughed while imagining Ranma broken at his feet both Pu'ar and Yamcha couldn't help but wonder if they should have left this lunatic in the desert to die.

Sadly for the group they still did not realize they had a Dragon Ball in their possession.

* * *

Ranma was in a bad mood. Not only did he suffer an attack from Bulma but he was later chewed out for not washing her clothes like he said he'd do the night before. She was forced to wear clothes that she had already worn that week. Plus she was making him drive the car while she applied make-up even though he had never driven before. It took him a half an hour to figure how everything worked. If they were on a highway then they would surly all have perished but luckily the wide desert had no traffic (They often didn't).

After a bit of driving Bulma appeared and sat besides the pig tailed boy in the passenger seat. "We've got to turn around. According to the Dragon Radar that Dragon Ball you thought Ryoga had is following us."

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah, Ryoga teamed up with that Yamcha guy and attacked last night. They must be following us now."

Bulma looked at the boy with wide eyes. "You mean that stud Yamcha is working with that idiot Ryoga? This is information you should have told me earlier. And why the hell are you so calm if they're coming after us."

The pig tailed boy gave her a cocky smirk. "They don't know we can track them. We got nothing to worry about. We can take their ball at any time and we know exactly where they are. Frankly I don't feel like fighting them right now. I got a major headache."

Bulma shook her head, frustrated at the pig tailed boy's laid back attitude. "Fine. Just remember that when it comes time to make the wish I'm getting a boyfriend."

"Whatever," Ranma simply said. He was tired and hurting and didn't want to bother getting into another fight with the teen genius. "Just tell me where to go. I've got no idea how to get to Oven Mountain or whatever the hell it's called."

The greenish blue haired girl frowned at the boy's ignorance. "Fry-Pan Mountain." She paused for a few minutes as she pondered how she should state her next sentence. "I'm sorry about hitting you earlier. I overreacted. I know you're a healthy guy and you get urges. And let's face it; I'm a straight up babe. It's only natural that you tried to climb in bed with me. I mean, I'm so gorgeous I wonder why guys don't sneak into it more often."

As Bulma went on about how good looking she was Ranma began repeatedly banging his head against the steering wheel.

To be continued…

Preview for next chapter:

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. Finally, we made it to Fry-Pan Mountain. What the hell…? The whole damn mountain is on fire! How are we supposed to get the ball now?

Goku: Hey Big Btother, what's up with that huge guy over there with the axe?

Gyu-Mao: Trying to steal my treasure, huh? I'll kill all three of ya!

Kame-sen'nin: Sounds like a good time for me to make an appearance, eh?

Ranma: Great, just what we need; the old freak. Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Burning Mountains, Evil Warlords, and the Super Death Move!"

Goku: What's a "Kamehameha?"

Author's Note:

Hot damn, I got two chapters uploaded within a week. I'm on a roll. Looks like Ranma may have stronger feelings for Bulma then he realizes what with him ending up in her bed while in the Neko-Ken. What will happen when Ranma learns of the powerful Kamehameha? Will he ever want to leave this world? Who will rule over the power of the Dragon Balls? Only I know the answers and I don't feel like telling them. The next Chapter may be longer than normal.


	6. The Super Death Move!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; I'm an uncreative, unfunny, little man with no money…

**Chapter 6**

**Burning Mountains, Evil Warlords, **

**And the Super Death Move!**

**The story thus far:** A sudden display of rebellion against Genma caused Ranma to be tossed into a random spring at Jusenkyo. Unlike the other pools there this one turned out to be a one way portal to the world of Son Goku. Now, teamed up with the teen genius Bulma and the Monkey King himself, Saotome Ranma begins his quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls…and a way back to his own world!

**Last Chapter:** Joining forces Yamcha and Ryoga attempted to steal the Dragon Balls during a night attack. However while trying to take Ranma out by exploiting his fear of cats they accidentally triggered the Neko-Ken and were mauled mercilessly by the pig tailed boy. By the morning Ranma and his friends set off for the next Dragon Ball, well aware of the fact they were being followed by their would-be rivals as the eternal lost boy still had yet to realize that he too carried one of the magical spheres.

It took a few days for the Dragon Ball Hunters to get where they were going; namely Fry Mountain. During this time Ranma had been forced to deal with Bulma's renewed passion. Ever since she caught the pig tailed boy climbing in her bed during their time in the desert she had been convince he was madly in love with her and thus the teen genius resumed her efforts to make Ranma admit his feelings for her with a stronger vigor.

Ranma found this annoying because he in fact felt nothing romantic for his traveling companion. Who could possibly be in love with a bossy, spoiled, self centered bitch like her? And he reminded her of that daily. Sure the girl was cute and could be fun to hang around when she wasn't being obnoxious but the fact was a typical day between the two was as follows: Bulma hits on Ranma who responds with an insult. Bulma, upset, makes a snide comment about Ranma. It goes back and forth until Bulma tells Ranma that he'd make a horrible boyfriend, reminds him that she'll use the wish herself (denying him the chance to return to his world), and then beats him senseless with a foreign object of some kind. That, to Ranma, didn't sound like love.

The last few days had little difference except that now Bulma believed that Ranma did not truly mean the things he said and was simply trying to hide the fact the he truly and deeply cared for her. Sadly her romanticized views were wasted because even if she was correct about the other worldly martial artist the fact remains that Ranma would never admit it to be true. That's just the way he is.

Finally Ranma's beat up looking Mobil Home was approaching the next Dragon Ball, as according to the radar, was right down the road they were currently taking.

The pig tailed martial artist was driving again since Bulma had become lazy and refused to do so. By now he had gotten used to it, but still preferred walking as opposed to cars.

"Hey, Ranma" the Saotome Heir heard from behind him. Bulma had poked her head into the driver's area . Something she often did while Ranma was driving. "We should be coming up on Fry Pan Mountain soon. Stop the car, alright. I wanna get some fresh air before we get there."

Ranma shrugged. "Fine by me. It's super hot in here anyway."

One minute later the Ranma, Bulma and Goku found themselves out of the car, within seeing distance of the mountain.

Goku was the first to notice the fact that the mountain was on fire. "Big Brother, I think I know why it's so hot."

Ranma became bug eyed at his sight. "Holy shit! No wonder it's so hot! Hey, Princess, is that where there next Dragon Ball is?"

Ranma had taken a habit to calling Bulma "Princess", which annoyed her. She ignored it for now and pulled out her Dragon Radar to confirm their suspicion. "Yeah, it's definitely there. Plus there's another ball very close in the direction we just came from."

The pig tailed fighter smiled faintly at this. "Heh, those idiots have no idea we know exactly where they are."

Goku shrugged. "So why are they following us?"

Bulma sighed sadly. It seems her first impression of the handsome desert bandit were incorrect which depressed her slightly. "It seems that Yamcha and Ryoga are waiting for us to collect all the Dragon Balls. Once we do they'll probably attack us."

Ranma eyes narrowed as he thought of his "old friend". 'Ryoga you moron,' he thought to himself. 'What the hell are you thinking?'

Close by in the jeep where the rival Dragon Ball Hunters were currently stationed, both Yamcha and Ryoga both sneezed.

The desert bandit frowned. "I hope we're not sick or anything."

Pu'ar was currently looking at a detailed map of the area. "It seems that those guys are definitely going to Fry Pan Mountain."

Yamcha's frown grew. "Could that be where the next Dragon Ball is?"

"If so then they'll never get it, Lord Yamcha."

Ryoga scratched his head in confusion. "Umm, what's Fry Pan Mountain?"

Pu'ar quickly answered his new ally. "Fry Pan Mountain is no ordinary mountain. It's covered in a blazing inferno. It's said that the castle where Gyu-Mao hid his treasure. Atop the mountain is still intact but it is impossible to reach because of the flames."

"Gyu-Mao?" Was Ryoga's response.

"Gyu-Mao is a warlord who ruled the land from his palace on top of the peek. But one day while he was out with his kid the whole mountain burst into flames. He now roams the area, killing anyone who tries to steal his treasure."

The lost boy shook his head. Yet another weird addition to an already weird world. It was like he was trapped in a Role Playing Game.

"But," Yamcha interrupted. "Perhaps Saotome and his allies have a good chance at claiming that ball. I've heard rumors that Gyu-Mao and Son Gohan were trained by the same invincible master. Perhaps that little monkey tailed one has an in with the Ox-King."

It was possible, they all thought. That being the case they could rest a little easier now. Yamcha's master plan was going smoothly so far.

The sound of a girl's scream and a loud, monstrous roar interrupted their conversation. As if on cue a girl, looking to be around eleven or so ran past them being chased by a large T-Rex. The girl looked as if she stepped out of a fetish store as she wore a pretty revealing metal bikini. She also wore a cape and an odd helmet with what looked like a large blade weapon on top of it as well as a jewel in its center.

Despite Ryoga's obvious flaws, he still was a strong believer in using his martial art abilities to protect the weak. He was just about to attack the huge dinosaur, regardless of the danger, when the girl turned around, pulled the blade from her helmet and tossed it at the T-Rex. The attack managed to slice its head off. The blade would then turn around mid-air like a boomerang and land back on her head. This caught all three Dragon Ball hunters off guard.

The girl looked over her handy work, which sternly enough caused her to freak out. "Eeek! How disgusting!" Quickly the girl placed her finger tips around the jewel of her helmet. Without warning a beam of energy shot out of the jewel and hit the decapitated T-Rex, causing it to explode.

The three on lookers became both intrigue and terribly frightened by this display. It didn't help matters that the girl now realized they were starring at her.

"Another menace!" she yelled as she proceeded to repeat the process of shooting lasers out of her helmet.

Luckily for them Yamcha and Ryoga managed to dodge the attack. Thinking quickly, the desert bandit ran toward the girl and struck her with a rather heavily blow knocking her unconscious.

Ryoga wasn't happy with this. "Did you really have to hit her so hard?"

Yamcha rolled his eyes at this. Ryoga tended to get on his nerves with this whole "martial artist's duty is to protect the weak" crap. "Would you rather have let her kill us instead? We don't have time to waste here. Let's hurry after Saotome and his friends."

The tiny village at the base of the mountain wasn't in good condition. It was pretty much a ghost town, but Ranma figured it was understandable what with the strong heat coming from the blazing inferno. Upon reaching this village, our heroes were struck with a problem: how were they going to reach the castle atop the mountain engulfed in flames? Bulma had determined that the next Dragon Ball was somewhere in there.

The teen genius pondered this a few minutes. She gave Ranma and evil smirk. "Why don't you use that flying turtle the old man gave you?"

"No way," the pig tailed boy growled. "There's no way I'm calling that ugly excuse for a turtle. Goku can just use his Kinto'un Cloud to get up there."

Goku nodded. He quickly called out the name of his magical cloud, which arrived a few seconds afterward. Hoping on top of it Goku commanded it to take him to the castle.

"Be careful Goku," Ranma called out to his friend as he flew off.

"You better find it!" Bulma added.

The pig tailed fighter narrowed his eyes at what his companion said. "Way to show concern, princess."

The bluish green haired girl stuck out her tongue at the boy. "Ah shut up, he knows I mean well."

They were given no chance to keep up the argument as they were interrupted by a huge ax flying right between them, hitting and becoming stuck in one of the houses around them. The two teens, turned around to see a giant of a man, wearing strange armor and a cape giving them a very angry look. Bulma screamed in shock while Ranma went into a defensive stance on instinct.

The giant reached for grabbed his ax from the ax it was planted in and began waving it around dangerously. "And what are you doing on my land?"

The greenish blue haired girl began spitting out nonsense due to her fear. Ranma, who was too proud to admit being afraid, simply said "We're here for the Dragon Ball." The boy's macho pride was of course forcing him to put up a brave front.

"You idiot," Bulma yelled. "Don't tell him that!"

The giant scratched his head. "Dragon Ball? What's that? I think you're here to swipe my treasure!"

The pig tailed boy began sweating. "We don't want any trouble and we don't want any treasure. We just want the Dragon Ball!"

"Damn thieves! I'll kill both of ya!" The giant screamed as he swung his ax at the pig tailed trespasser. Ranma was able to dodge but he was shocked at its speed.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to stop holding back," Ranma said out loud. He struck the giant with a powerful kick to the chest. It did nothing to him.

"Bwahaha, I was trained by the Muten Roshi, boy! It'll take more than that to defeat me!"

The Saotome Heir gave a cocky grin. "I'm just getting started!" With that he unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches to every spot on the giant he could. Each attack was useless against the opponent. "Oh shit," was all Ranma could manage to say as he realized he couldn't hurt this guy.

The giant smiled. "I told you, punk! Only someone like Son Gohan could defeat me!"

As soon as he said that Ranma's brain began working in overtime. Son Gohan was…Goku's grandfather! "Hey ya loud mouthed jerk, my friend Goku is a relative of Son Gohan. He'll take you out no sweat!" Of course this was a bluff as he knew that if he couldn't beat this guy Goku couldn't either. Hopefully the giant would get scared and retreat.

Whether it was fear or not, the giant's expression became lighter. "Huh? A relative of Gohan? You mean that girl?"

At this moment Goku returned from the castle on his cloud. "Looks like it's too hot for us to break into the castle." The monkey tailed fighter noticed that large ax wielding person standing next to his friends. "Oh. Hiya. Who're you?"

Before Ranma could warn the spiky haired youth of the danger the giant gave a sudden gasp as he pointed his finger at the yellow cloud. "That's the Kinto'un! Where did you get it, boy? Tell me now!"

Goku, really not understanding the situation he was in, just scratched his head. "I got it from the turtle guy."

This really got the large man excited. "Turtle guy? You mean the Muten Roshi! Tell me where he lives or I'll kill you all where you stand!"

Goku thought about it for a few seconds. "Umm, we kinda know where the turtle guy lives right Big Brother?" The younger boy looked to Ranma for assurance.

The pig tailed fighter shook his head. "Not really. I mean, we know it's out in the ocean somewhere."

The spiky haired youth's eyes lit up. "Hey, Big Brother, I bet I know who knows exactly where the turtle guy lives."

"Oh no, I just got through saying I ain't calling that thing!" Ranma yelled. He and Baby Gamera did not get along.

Bulma, irate at Ranma's stubbornness, knocked the boy upside the head with her fist. "Idiot, this may be our best bet to get the Dragon Ball."

The Chinese clothed martial artist let out a huge sigh as he rubbed his now aching head. "Fine! I'll call the damn turtle." With that the pig tailed fighter turned toward the distant mountains and let out the huge cry of "Baby Gamera, to me!"

Within a few seconds the flying, spinning turtle shell that can be recognized as the former vehicle of choice of Kame-Sen'nin came into view. Gyu-Mao was shocked as his former master's servant landed right in front of him.

"It's Baby Gamera! You guys must really know my invincible old master!"

The turtle looked at Ranma and shook his head in disgust. With a heavy heart he said "At your service, master."

Goku examined Baby Gamera, as this had been the first time he had seen him. "So this is the flying turtle you got from the old guy, huh? Hmm, I bet Kinto'un way faster this thing."

"Watch your mouth, youth," Gamera replied sharply. "I am the fastest of all the flying turtles!"

Gyu-Mao was ecstatic. It seemed he would indeed get back into his castle very soon. It was then, however he noticed the staff on Goku's back. "The Nyoibo? That was Son Gohan's staff! Then you must be the relative the skinny kid was talking about!"

The monkey tailed boy was a little surprised that another person knew his grandfather, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, he was my Grandpa."

This really set the Ox-King off. The giant man had a huge smile on his face. "You don't say. Son Gohan had a grandson. Bwahaha."

Close by, within the shadows, Yamcha, Ryoga and Pu'ar closely watched these events take place. The desert bandit smirked as his assumption that Goku had an in with Gyu-Mao was well founded.

The Ox-King began reminiscing about his youthful days when he and Son Gohan used to train together under the Muten Roshi, which surprised Ranma because if the turtle hermit and this Muten Roshi guy were the same person then that meant that Kame-Sen'nin was actually an extremely formidable martial arts master. If he were to train under him could he become as strong as, or maybe even stronger than, the seemingly invincible Gyu-Mao?

The giant ax wielding martial artist soon regained his serious attitude. "This is no time for thoughts about the good old days. I got a favor to ask you guys. As you can see my castle is trapped on top the burning mountain. But, I've heard of a magic fan that may be able to put out the flame; the Basho-Sen. My old master has it. Can you please go to his house and get it for me?"

Ranma and Goku looked at each other. "Could you give us a Dragon Ball for it?" The younger fighter asked. He pulled out his grandfather's four star ball to show the giant.

"Oh, I got something like that in the castle," the Ox-King said upon seeing the keepsake of his old training mate. "Sure, I'll give to you guys if you can put out that fire."

From the safety of their hiding place near by the other group of Dragon Ball hunters saw their first glimpse of a Dragon Ball. Or least it was the first for Yamcha and Pu'ar.

"So that's a Dragon Ball," the desert bandit realized.

Pu'ar nodded. "I thought they'd be bigger."

However their companion was looking at this scene with a shocked expression. Almost immediately Ryoga suddenly began digging through his backpack. After a few seconds he pulled out an orange sphere that looked remarkably similar to the one Goku had, except this one had seven stars instead of four.

The say that the two bandits were shocked would be an understatement. "Y-you had one all along?" Yamcha demanded. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or angry. "Why didn't you tell us?"

The lost boy lowered his head in great embarrassment. "Umm, I didn't know what it was until just now. I thought it was just a pretty stone, or jewelry or something. I didn't know it was magical."

The long haired fighter calmed down and thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter whether you had it all this time or not. In fact it's better this way. Those fools need all the Dragon Balls to make their wishes, right? So they can't possibly do that unless they take this ball from us. When they try I'll take them all with my Wolf Fang Fists. We'll continue to track them as we have been. They still don't know we're following them, and they certainly don't know we have this Dragon Ball or else they would have tried to take it from us already."

Ryoga smiled evilly. "Heh, soon Ranma, soon I shall have revenge!"

Sadly for these would-be rivals they had no idea that Bulma carried the Dragon Radar and in fact knew where they were at that exact moment.

Unaware of the plotting, however, the first group of Dragon Ball hunters decided it was time to head out. "Alright then," Ranma said as he climbed on top of Baby Gamera's spiky shell in a standing potion. "I'll just make a run and get that Bash-Whatever." Turning his attention to the turtle the pig tailed martial artist motioned it take off. And it obeyed. It began spinning wildly as it normally does to propel itself. This however caused the unprepared Ranma to be tossed off, landing face first into the ground.

Both Bulma and Goku laughed hysterically at this. "Looks like you really got the short end of the stick from the old man," the teen genius mocked.

Ranma starred angrily at Baby Gamera, who was no longer spinning. "Hey jerk, what's the big idea?"

Gamera shrugged (as best he could anyway). "That, my master, is the only way I can fly. We flying turtles can only soar through the sky while spinning."

This caused the young fighter to become irritated. "Look pal, I've seen some of those old Gamera movies and I know for a fact that he just used his back rockets to fly at least once. So cut the crap and fly right! I know you don't need to spin."

This caused the flying turtle to be the irritated one. "How dare you suggest such a thing? Never in the history of my tribe has any flying turtle attempted to lift of the ground, let alone fly, without using all four rockets and spinning." He paused before adding "On the other hand if I fail you're the one who gets hurt so it doesn't matter a whole lot to me. Hop on, young master."

Grumbling something about stupid back talking turtles Ranma complied and once again stood on top of Baby Gamera. This time when the Saotome Heir motioned for them to lift off the flying turtle replied by lifting on top his hind legs ever so slightly. Suddenly the sound of rockets could hear as the vicious looking creature blasted off into the sky.

As Ranma rode Baby Gamera and saw the world from the sky he realized that this must be how Goku viewed things from his magical cloud. It was an amazing feeling. The most thrilling thing he had ever done in his young life.

'Man,' he thought. 'I never thought it would be this great!'

Gamera sighed; trying to drown out Ranma's excited laughter. "Master, where are we going, again?"

The pig tailed boy regained his senses at that. "Oh yeah…to the Turtle Hermit's house!" He said it with such a young and adventurous vigor that it was all Gamera could do to not puke in utter disgust.

Meanwhile on the ground, as Ranma quickly flew from view, Gyu-Mao turned to his old friend's kin. "There's another favor I'd like to ask you. Not that I thought it do any good, but I sent my daughter Chi-Chi out to find my old master's place. Now I'm worried about where she might be. Could you use your cloud to find her?" Goku happily agreed to this. "Oh good," the Ox-King continued. "If ya find her I'll give her to ya as your wife."

…

It did not take long for Ranma to find the tiny island where Kame-Sen'nin resided since Baby Gamera knew exactly how to get there. Upon landing the pig tailed boy made a quick observation off the area. There's was nothing but a pink two floor cottage with the words "Kame House" written on it, and three palm trees (two on one side of the house, one on the other). The old man himself, along with the sea turtle Ranma had helped rescue before, was there sweeping the area for whatever reason.

"Hey, ya old freak," Ranma greeted as he hoped off the grounded Baby Gamera.

The bald old hermit recognized Ranma immediately. "Well if it isn't the ungrateful, rude, ignorant little punk?"

This caused the young martial artist to become angry. "Hey, what's with the name calling, ya old fart? I'm the one you saved your turtle, remember!"

Kame-sen'nin simply gave a frown. "Yes, that you did, sonny. But the fact is that I give you my last magical transportation device as a reward and you practically spit in my face as thanks!"

"I'm using it now, ain't I?"

"Yes, yes you are." The old man turned to his former servant. "How's it going with the young lad?"

"He's rude, brash and insulting," Gamera explained. "I would like nothing more than to have a large object fall on his head."

This really set the Saotome Heir off. "Why you spiky shelled bastard!"

Kame-sen'nin let out a rather large laugh. "Boy, you have to learn to respect your turtle or else your turtle won't respect you. That's the Turtle Hermit way!"

The pig tailed martial artist just rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever, old man." It was then he remembered about the fight he lost against Gyu-Mao. "Oh that's right! I just met the Ox-King!"

"Oh? How is Gyu-Mao? Is he still killing people over meaningless treasure? I taught that boy better than that."

That was all Ranma needed to hear. "So it's true! You're the Ox-King's invincible old master!"

The compliment amused the old man. "Yes, I am indeed sometimes referred to as the Muten Roshi."

"Hey old man, train me!" This was more of a demand than a request.

Roshi just shook his head. "Why in the world should I train you?"

Ranma was extremely eager and it showed. "I couldn't even scratch Gyu-Mao! I'm training to become the strongest martial artist of my generation, but if I can't even hurt a guy like him than it's all been for nothing. Train me so I can get stronger!"

The old martial arts master shook his head. "I cannot train you for such selfish reasons. Why, I bet you don't even know the true meaning and duty of a martial artist."

"The duty of a true martial artist is to protect the weak. Why the hell did you think I saved your turtle?"

The Sea Turtle spoke up for the first time since Ranma arrived. "Master, he is right. Perhaps you should give him a chance."

Kame-sen'nin sighed at this. "Alright, I'll think about it. Does your little monkey tailed friend want training too? Where is he by the way? And where's that girl with the…heh heh heh." He bean drooling over his last image of Bulma flashing him.

This caused Ranma to remember the primary reason for his visit. "Hey old man, I need the…what's it called…the Basho-Sen? Do you have it?"

This surprised the old man. "You mean the legendary magic fan that can summon a typhoon with a single wave, a thunderstorm with two, and a monsoon with three? Yes, I have it but what do you want with it?"

The pig tailed by shrugged. "The next Dragon Ball is in Gyu-Mao's castle at Fry Pan Mountain but the fire's too strong to get to it. So the big guy sent me here to get that thing from you."

Kame-sen'nin nodded knowingly. "Yes, I had heard the rumors about Fry Pan Mountain. I believe the fan has the power to put out the flame. I suppose I can lend it to you….on one condition!"

Ranma gulped at this, not knowing what to expect.

"The condition is…I get a free peek at your girlfriend's chest!"

This caused Ranma, Gamera, and the Sea Turtle to practically fall over.

"You dirty old fart, what the hell's wrong with you? Plus she ain't my girlfriend!"

"Really, sir, that's just plain wrong!"

"My new master may be rude, but I am thankful he is not perverted."

"Oh shut up, all of you!" Kame-sen'nin retorted. "I'm an old man with needs. Can't you grant me this dying wish?"

The Sea Turtle didn't buy it. "Sir, you drank the Immortality Elixir. You won't be dying anytime soon."

Ranma let out a sigh. "Fine, I'm sure Bulma would do it if it's for the Dragon Ball. Man, I hope when I get old I'm not a huge pervert like you, old freak."

The turtle hermit simply laughed as he headed into his home to retrieve the fan. A few minutes later he returned empty handed. "Hey turtle; do you remember where I left that fan?"

The Sea Turtle gave his master an odd look. "Sir, if I recall you were using it as a pot holder."

This caused the old man to become pale. "Th-that was the Basho-Sen? I spilled soup on that thing and it stained so badly I threw it out months ago."

As expected Ranma lost his temper. "YOU SENILE OLD IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

"Don't worry, lad," the old man said with revived vigor. "The Muten Roshi always has a backup plan. I shall travel with you to Fry Pan Mountain and put out the inferno myself!"

The pig tailed fighter was not without skepticism. Even though he had heard rumors he had yet to see what the old guy was really made of. "You think you can do it by yourself, old man?"

The bad master of the martial arts just smiled. "There's nothing the invincible old master can't do, sonny." With that he retreated into his house only to returned wear a Chinese styled long sleeve yellow shirt and blue kung-fu pants. Reaching in his pocket he removed a capsule. Tossing it into the ground it exploded into a sleek helicopter. "Shall we go?"

And thus the two martial artists headed back toward Fry Pan Mountain.

Back at the run down village that surrounds the mountain in question; Ranma's friend's anxiously awaited his return. Goku had just come back after finding Gyu-Mao's daughter Chi-Chi, and now the group was waiting for the pig tailed boy to arrive with the Bansho-Sen.

From the safety of their hiding place, Yamcha and Ryoga found themselves sweating bullets. When they realized that the girl who attacked them earlier was the Ox-King's daughter the two fighters had been forced to check on the unconscious twelve year in the hopes of making themselves look better. Sadly before Yamcha could fully convince the girl that he only hit her because he was confused by his feelings of love Goku arrived and they were forced to flee.

One good thing was discovered for the would-be Dragon Ball hunters: They found that the spiky haired youth lost all his strength when his tailed was pulled/grabbed.

Goku was having problems of his own. Ever since he found Chi-Chi the girl had acted strangely toward him. If he would look at her face would get all red. Also sometimes Goku would notice her starring at him, but if he looked back she's quickly turn away; almost as if she didn't want him to know she had been looking. This confused the money tailed boy very much. He strongly hoped Ranma would get back soon so he could ask him what her problem was.

Finally in the distance the short fighter could make out the incoming shape of Ranma on the flying turtle. "There he is!"

Bulma looked at the spot her younger comrade was pointing to. "Are you sure, I can barely make him out."

Sure enough the pig tailed fighter would soon land right next to his traveling companions. "Yo," was all he said as he hoped off Baby Gamera.

Gyu-Mao anxious ran up to him. "Well, did you find him? Where's the Basho-Sen?"

Ranma explained what the old man had told him, which left the others to wonder where the turtle hermit was and if he could truly put the fire out. It was then he noticed the young girl standing closely by the Ox-King. "Who's the new chick?"

"This is my daughter, Chi-Chi," Gyu-Mao replied. "I sent Goku to find her after you left."

The pig tailed boy shrugged. It didn't really matter to him one way or the other.

A few short minutes later a helicopter made its arrival to area. Sure enough the old turtle hermit had come. He silently made his way out of his vehicle and placed it back into its capsule. He would then approach the group that stood before him. "Hey all," were his only words before turning his attention to the blazing inferno that was Fry Pan Mountain. The old martial arts master let out a soft chuckle, as if unimpressed by the flames.

Gyu-Mao was confused by this display. "Err, master…is something funny?"

Kame-Sen'nin simply starred at his former pupil. "Oh nothing…certainly not the reputation you've gained lately. I hear a lot of lives have been lost because of your treasures."

At this the greatly feared Ox-King fell to his hands and knees, practically kissing the old man's feet. "Forgive me, master. I have seen the error of my way! I shall repent by destroying all my treasure if you can put out this flame!"

This sight sent a cold shiver down Ranma's spine. Gyu-Mao was an extremely strong fighter. The boy's strongest blows did nothing against him. Despite that his was groveling in front of this seemingly useless old pervert. It was almost as if he was afraid of what Kame-Sen'nin would do to him. Was this old man really that powerful?

It was then the old man began to make fake coughing sounds in order to get Ranma's attention. "Boy, I think it's time to talk about what we agree upon earlier." He blushing as he said this.

The pig tailed fighter sighed. This wasn't going to be pretty. "Yeah, alright. Hey Bulma, can you come with me and the old perv for a sec? I think we're gonna wanna do this in private."

The three soon found themselves alone a ways away from the rest of the spectators. It was there Ranma explained that Kame-sen'nin would only put out the flame if Bulma would allow him to see her breast. The old man was blushing throughout the entire explanation, as if he were an innocent school boy.

"WHAT?" I can't believe you, you senile old pervert?" was her reply. She obviously still hadn't gotten over the last time this had happened.

However the supposed "Muten Roshi" didn't flinch at this. "Oh, don't wanna cooperate, eh? Well, I'll just go back to my island and you can kiss your Dragon Ball goodbye."

This, of course, was dirty pool. However it was also something Bulma could not refuse. "Fine, but only if you can actually do it."

Ranma let out a sigh of relief. "Glad that worked out."

Just as those words left his mouth he felt a demonic presence from behind him. He turned around slowly only to see Bulma, now with burning red eyes and razor sharp teeth. "RAAAANMAA!" she growled.

Several minutes later Ranma found himself licking several new found wounds. He wasn't sure how Bulma was able to inflict so much damage on him in her blind range when she lacked ay martial art training what so ever.

Kame-Sen'nin faced the giant fire. He was still unfazed by it. Ranma, Bulma and Goku all had their doubts. In all seriousness the old fart had a few tricks up his sleeves, a few secrets perhaps, but the fact was he was still an old man.

The old man in question made his way toward a wall that faced the mountain directly. He slowly removed his shirt to reveal…well, a skinny old man body. "Not bad for an old man, eh?' he said specifically to Bulma (Who was, not surprisingly, unimpressed). Unable to climb the wall facing the flame himself he requested Goku to give him a push. Once up there he nearly fell over. All in all it seemed doubtful that the turtle hermit was anything other than an old pervert.

"Okay, here goes," the old man said with firm determination.

And then something strange happened. Both Ranma and Goku suddenly felt something…powerful. Now both of them lacked proper training in reading someone's chi, but this was too strong for them not to notice. And it was coming from the old man. They both stared at the so-called "Invincible Old Master." Suddenly the bald old fighter gained an insane amount a muscle mass out of seemingly nowhere. His face looked as if this was a strain. The area around them began to shake

"What the hell's going on?" was all Ranma could say.

From their hiding place Yamcha, Ryoga and Pu'ar could all feel this as well.

The lost boy was especially worried. "What's happening? What is that old man doing?"

Yamcha looked on in disbelief, his face showing an odd mixture of fear and excitement. "I think…I think he's powering up the Kamehameha!"

Back with the other group they all took noticed at Kame-Sen'nin's arms began make circular motions to his front. His palms would then meet, facing directly at the mountain.

"Ka…Me…"

Ranma watch in disbelief. Not for the first time since coming to this world (And not the last) he wondered if he was dreaming, for this seemed unbelievable.

The old man by this time had moved his arms to his side. One could see the blue energy gathering into his hands as he did this.

"Ha…Me…"

It was then Ranma realized what was going on. "He's…he's gathering his own chi and focusing it to a single point!" He thought out loud.

It was then the boy realized the mountain didn't stand a chance.

"HA!"

With strong enthusiasm, the old man pushed his hand forwards releasing a large continuous beam of blue light that engulfed the entire mountain. All those in the area at the time were shocked out of their minds, as none of them, save perhaps Gyu-Mao, had ever seen the Kamehameha before.

When the smoked cleared Kame-sen'nin was his old, frail looking self. He was winded from using all that energy, but otherwise fine. "Heh, that was a big one."

For a brief moment Ranma forgot himself. He rushed the sunglasses wearing fighter, his eyes widened with youthful vigor. "Old man, that was amazing! What was that?"

"Oh, that was just the Kamehameha," was the reply.

"Umm, master," Gyu-Mao interjected. "It seems you put out the fire but also you destroyed the mountain."

Sure enough the mountain, along with the castle that once sat atop it, was nothing but a pile a ruble.

The old man just smiled innocently. "Woops."

Bulma however was not pleased. "That's all you have to say! 'Woops!' You could have destroyed the Dragon Ball with that thing!"

Luckily, after checking the Dragon Radar, it seemed that the ball was still there. Thus the teen genius opted to claim it. She ventured off alone, as Ranma was busy asking the old man for details of the attack while Goku was laughably trying to perform the move himself.

"C'mon old man, tell how to do it! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Demanded the annoying pig tailed boy.

The old martial arts master regarded him with little attention. He explained that even if he felt like teaching him it didn't matter since it would take about fifty years to master it.

He was shut up when Goku suddenly shot a small version of it at Ranma's mobile home, smashing it up to unusable levels. No one was immediately bothered by this as everyone who witnessed this, including the three rival hunters, were shocked speechless by this.

Ranma's shocked soon was replaced by pride. If Goku could do it so could he, right? Even if the little kid was way stronger then he should be at that age the pig tailed boy was still the better fighter…right?

Goku just cheerfully smiled at them as if it was no big deal. "Heh, I guess I did. Not as big as yours, though, old timer."

The Ox-King was the first to speak. "He's definitely Gohan's grandson."

This took the old man by surprise. "Gohan's grandson?" He smiled a kind smile as he remembered that his old pupil had told him all about how he found a monkey tailed baby in the mountains. Of course there was no point in telling Goku the whole story just yet, as it was a bit odd. "I see. I shouldn't be so surprised about you then, boy. So how is old Son Gohan doing these days?"

"Pretty good," Goku responded. "Oh yeah, except he's dead."

This shocked the turtle hermit even more. Son Gohan was a master of martial arts even in old age he was in perfect health. What in the world could have possibly killed him? In any case the old man felt a sort of reasonability toward young Goku since he was seemingly alone in the world. Well, he had Ranma, but that teenage brat would most likely be a bad influence on him.

"How 'bout you come live with me, lad?" Kame-sen'nin offered. "I can teach you a bit of martial arts if you like."

Before Goku could answer Ranma gave his two-cents about this. "Hey, old fart, what about me? I asked you before and you wouldn't give me a straight answer!"

The old man sighed. "Fine, you can come too. After you're done with this whole 'Dragon Ball' thing come over to my island I'll train both of you."

Any happiness Ranma would have felt otherwise from hearing this was replaced by a strong disappointment. After the Dragon Ball hunt he was going back to his world. 'Damn,' he thought. This of course did nothing to help his already conflicted feelings about going home. He was already wondering why he should return home. He had only been on this world a few weeks ad he had in that short time gained good friends and an opportunity to become train under possibly the most powerful fighter in the world. This was much better than what awaited him back home (Oh, if only he knew…). The fact was that the Saotome Heir would need to do a lot of soul searching on this before he could make the life altering decision of which Earth he would reside.

Bulma found the Dragon Ball, the six stared one, underneath the remains of the village. It was only after she came back that Ranma realized Goku destroyed his car (and there only means of transportation.). Luckily Gyu-Mao was kind enough to give them a capsule with a sort of hovercraft car in it. It seemed that everything was going to be okay…that is until Kame-Sen'nin reminded Bulma of their deal.

"A promise is a promise, after all," was what the old man said, drool escaping his mouth.

As Bulma sorrowfully went off with the turtle hermit in order to un-willfully show off her "money makers," Chi-Chi came by the group's new car to say goodbye to Goku.

"Goodbye Goku," she said, a bit sadly. "Come back to visit. We still have to plan the wedding."

At this Goku licked his lips. "Mmm, I can't wait. That marriage thing sounds _real_ good."

Ranma wasn't sure he had heard that correctly. "Huh? What's this about marriage?"

Chi-Chi blushed, and smiled a bit. "Goku and I are to be wed!"

The pig tailed boy took a long look at his friend. The spiky haired fighter just gave a cheerfully grin that just screamed "I have no idea what's going on."

"Goku," Ranma said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you even know what marriage is?"

The younger boy nodded. "It's some kind of food, right?"

Five seconds later Ranma found himself trying to convince the Ox-King to break of this flawed engagement.

But Gyu-Mao would have none of it. "I'm sorry, Ranma, but if my daughter and Gohan's grandson get married then our schools will be united. I know my old training partner would have wanted that."

Hear the phrase "schools will be united" sent a chill down Ranma's spine for some strange reason, but nevertheless he continued arguing with the large man. "Didn't they just meet? Don't you think it's kinda, I dunno, idiotic to engaged two people who don't even know each other?"

The Ox-King smiled brightly, as if he realized the true meaning of Ranma's words. "I see what you're getting, and I think it's a great idea. Chi-Chi will travel with you on your Dragon Ball hunt so she can get to know her fiancé better!"

Obviously he had not in fact realized the true meaning of Ranma's words.

And so our heroes gained a new traveling companioned. As the four of them drove in the cramped car on the road that would hopefully take them to the last Dragon Ball (Not counting Ryoga's).

"So," Ranma said to Bulma uneasily. "Where's the next ball?"

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME AFTER WHAT YOU PUT ME THROUGH, YOU PIG TAILED BASTARD!"

It seemed she was still upset about once again having to play the role of eye candy to the turtle hermit. To this Ranma acted accordingly. "Geez," he said lazily. "We got a Dragon Ball out of it, so stop being a bitch about it."

To this Chi-Chi became extremely upset. "Gasp! That's a bad word!" And with that she smacked the older boy with all the strength she could muster (Which turned out to be pretty damn strong) and sent him flying out of the car and landing head first on a nearby rock.

Just before Ranma passed out from the pain he thought to himself 'Great, now there's two of 'em.'

Maybe the decision to go back home wouldn't be so hard after all.

To be continued…

Preview for next chapter:

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. Well this is it, all seven Dragon Balls are gathered and Shenlong is summoned. Problem is there's a lot of guys who want 'em for themselves.

Bulma: I wish for the perfect boyfriend!

Yamcha: I wish to be removed of my fear of girls!

Ryoga: I wish to be rid of this horrible sense of direction!

Goku: I dunno…maybe I wish that ankii and I were real brothers.

Pilaf: How about I just kill you all and wish of world domination?

Ranma: Ah geez…well there's no way I'm letting any of you idiots take my wish! Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "The Adventure Ends? The Eternal Dragon Appears!"

Goku: Wait, does that mean that's the last chapter?


	7. The Adventure Ends?

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; there is no money here! Seriously. I'm totally broke.

**Chapter 7**

**The Adventure Ends? **

**The Eternal Dragon Appears!**

**The story thus far:** A sudden display of rebellion against Genma caused Ranma to be tossed into a random spring at Jusenkyo. Unlike the other pools there this one turned out to be a one way portal to the world of Son Goku. Now, teamed up with the teen genius Bulma and the "Monkey King" himself Saotome Ranma begins his quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls…and a way back to his own world!

**Last Chapter:** Ranma and his friends finally reached Fry Pan Mountain, only to find it set ablaze. On Gyu-Mao's advice the pig tailed boy went off in search of Kame-Sen'nin for help. The old man does so…by destroying the whole mountain with the powerful Kamehameha attack. Afterwards our heroes received not only the next Dragon Ball but a new traveling companion: the emotionally hasty Chi-Chi, daughter of the Ox-King and newly named fiancée of Goku.

"Kamehameha!"

It was nightfall. The Dragon Ball hunters had been successful in finding a town that sold capsules, thus tonight they were able to rest comfortably inside a rather nice looking house.

"Kamehameha!"

Well, that was the general idea: rest now, for the adventure was nearing its completion. According to Bulma the next and final Dragon Ball was very close. Once they found it all that was left was the ball Ryoga carried, and they knew exactly where he and his allies were hiding.

"Kamehameha!"

So, as stated before, they were supposed to be resting. However, with perhaps the exception of the newcomer Chi-Chi, none of the traveling companions were able to relax. They all had a lot on their minds, since the end was approaching. The question of who would use the final wish was on their minds; as were the consequences of the said wish. They were dealing with these issues in their own ways.

"I almost got it! I know I do! Kamehameha!"

Saotome Ranma, for example, was trying to master the awesome move the Turtle Hermit had demonstrated a few days prior. Goku had done the move after only seeing it once, but the pig tailed fighter was having a tougher time with it. For the last few hours he had been out in a clearing a little ways from the house trying to learn the technique. He was getting better at it; he was actually creating a light wind generated by the ki he was collecting. However the prideful fighter was determined to do more than that if it was the last thing he did.

But of course, there was another motive to his obsession with learning the attack: the more he thought about the Kamehameha the less he had to think about the last Dragon Ball. He wouldn't have to think about what would happen when he'd say goodbye to the people he had grown accustomed to seeing every day.

The young martial artist stopped his training for a moment. He was unable to concentrate. He decided he might as call it quits for now. After all he'd have all the time in the world to master the move once he was back on his own world with his father….

"Damn," he muttered as his thoughts strayed into the very topic he had been trying to avoid all day.

"Big Brother," he heard a familiar voice call out. It was Goku, of course. Ranma turned to his friend and gave him a light smile. "What's up monkey boy?"

Goku was hesitant; it was obvious he had something serious on his mind. After reaffirming with himself, the spiky haired youth finally spoke. "I've been thinking and thinking all day…about you and me and Bulma and the Dragon Balls."

"Uh huh," Ranma muttered, not liking where this was going.

"And," Goku continued. "I was thinking maybe you could just let Bulma wish for that 'boyfriend' thing. That way me and you can go train with the turtle guy together."

Ranma sighed. Goku was going to make this hard, wasn't he? "Listen Goku…I gotta go home. I mean...I don't belong here. I belong on my own world. My old man is probably worried stupid over me disappearing like I did."

Goku nodded, though he didn't really understand. It was simple: Ranma stayed with him, they'd train and get stronger and fight other strong guys. But Ranma was saying he couldn't remain there anymore...and for reasons the younger boy couldn't comprehend he was hurting on the inside.

The pig tailed boy continued. "Besides, it's kinda my fault that Ryoga's here…well actually it's all Pop's fault, but still I gotta set things right by sending us both back."

Goku nodded again. The pain was still there, but he got the feeling that his friend wasn't going to change his mind. "Well…could you maybe come back sometime?"

Ranma was about to respond with "Probably not" but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Goku was staring at him with sad eyes, something unbecoming with the boy's usual character. "Um, sure. In fact now that I think about it I definitely can! I mean, all I gotta do is jump into that spring to come back here. We can just hunt for the Dragon Balls again to send me back home afterwards. So yeah, no need to be upset. I'll be back."

This perked Goku's mood up, somewhat. It was good to know that this wouldn't be the last he'd see of Ranma. "Well then…while you're gone I'm gonna train real hard and when you come back we'll fight to see who's stronger."

Ranma smirked at this. It was always about fighting with this kid. Then again it was always about fighting with him as well. The two were indeed kindred spirits. The older boy offered his fist to the boy. "Deal. But don't think I'll pull my punches like I do when we spar."

Goku tapped the young Saotome's fist with his own. "Heh, same here."

Bulma returned to her Capsule house after hearing the exchange between her two fellow adventures. She had been watching Ranma for some time. Both he and Goku must have been very preoccupied to have not noticed her. She heard Ranma's reasons for leaving their world and to say she was unhappy was an understatement. The question was why she was so sad. She kept asking herself why she should care if the jerk was leaving or not. Besides, she was going to use the wish to make the perfect boyfriend anyway, right? So Ranma wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, right? Right?

As the teen genius walked into the dining room of her temporary home she decided it was time she faced facts; she liked Ranma. A lot. She had only known him a few weeks, but she had become attached to the martial artist. He was strong willed, determined, playfully shy about certain things, very attractive, and most of all wasn't intimidated by her. As the heiress of the Capsule Corp. she found it hard to meet boys who were comfortable around her and not using her for her wealth and status. Ranma was completely ignorant of her father's company and thus didn't care. Even the fact that she at times threw money around Ranma still treated her as an actual person…well at least he treated her the same way as he treated everyone else.

She also had come to the realization that if she and the martial artist were to spend more time together she felt that maybe she could fall in love with him. Maybe; he was still a jerk after all. But she could admit that she could be a nicer person sometimes too.

Sitting down at the table in the dining room she sighed. She didn't want Ranma to leave, but what kind of person would she be if she forced him to stay?

"Bulma-san," a cute voice called out to her. Chi-Chi, the new addition, had apparently been waiting for her. This annoyed the older girl somewhat. Mainly because all the Ox-King's daughter talked about was her wedding to Goku and how shy Goku was and how she suspected that Goku was madly in love with her and so on.

"Can this wait?" Bulma asked. "I kind of want to be alone."

"No! I wanted to ask you what kind of band Goku and I have should have at our wedding! It's really important to have the right band!"

Bulma could feel her eyes twitching as the younger girl kept going on and on…

* * *

When morning came they were quick to head out. Gyu-Mao had generously given the motley crew of Dragon Ball hunters a sleek hover car to continue their travels since Goku accidentally destroyed their last vehicle. The group by this time had found themselves speeding down the road of a strange forest. At least it was strange to Ranma. The trees all seemed to be giant mushroom-like things. They were all at least 15-feet tall. The young Saotome had never seen anything like this before, but found himself not being able to be surprised by what he saw on this world anymore. When you constantly find yourself seeing things you've never seen before it starts to lose its novelty.

Ranma was driving the car again, which wasn't good considering he had a considerable lack of driving abilities. It was just a good thing he had always been a quick learner for the most part. Bulma sat next to him while the two younger hunters were in the back. No one was talking. The end was near and no one really had anything to say. Well Chi-Chi had plenty to say but she was too busy blushing to do so. Overall it was awkward.

As their car came closer to its destination Bulma starred at her pig-tailed companion. Various things were running through her head as she did so. The silence lasted a few minutes longer before she finally said something. "So…what's your world like?"

Ranma turned to her with a puzzled look. He thought he heard her wrong. "What did you say?"

Bulma was irritated by that question. She was trying to be nice here! "What, are you deaf or is your dumb jock brain just that small? I asked what your world is like."

She wasn't trying to be mean, but she just wasn't used to being civil with other people. In many ways Ranma was the same way.

The pig tailed fighter, unsure of what to say, retorted with "Hey, who you calling dumb, ya un-cute spoiled brat!"

"Un-cute? Any guy would be lucky to have a beautiful woman like me as a traveling companion!"

"Yeah right. I'm sure the guys are bending over backwards to see ya. That's why you're going through all this trouble to get a freaking boyfriend!"

In the back seat Chi-Chi had become worried. "Goku-san," she said to her fiancé. "Shouldn't we stop this?"

Goku looked at her like she said the weirdest thing he'd ever heard. "Are you kidding? This is normal for them. If they weren't fighting then there'd be something wrong."

After a while of arguing the two teens finally just gave up and went back to not saying anything. But after a while it was Ranma who broke the silence. "It's really different."

The teen genius raised an eyebrow at his comment.

"My world doesn't have dinosaurs running around, there ain't any talking animals walking and wearing clothes, there ain't any capsules things …there ain't any giant mushroom forests. It's different in just about way I can think of."

Bulma said nothing for about a minute or so. "Do you miss it?"

Without thinking about it Ranma replied "I guess." Two seconds later he realized what he said. "Um, yeah, I miss it a lot."

Bulma said nothing at that. Of course it wouldn't have mattered because at that point the car suddenly and forcefully spun out of control from what felt like a large impact. Ranma tried to steer the best he could but the force of the impact was too much. The car flipped over causing its occupants to spill out onto the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Bulma said as she attempted to pick herself up.

Ranma himself was shocked at what just happened. He could have sworn that something that may have been a missile had hit their car. But how could that be? Who was attacking them? The answer came quickly as the four travelers found themselves facing what looked like a large robotic insect of some sort. It had two arms; one with a smoking barrel attached to it. Ranma got the feeling that this was the thing that blew up their brand new ride.

"Eek!" Chi-Chi screamed as her attempts to pick herself up were slowed by the new "menace."

"What's this monster?" Ranma heard Goku yell. He didn't have an answer for the young fighter. He had never seen anything like it either. For the moment the robot ignored them. It seemed to be more interested in the wreckage of their car. Finally it found what it was looking for and everything became clear: It had the suitcase where the Dragon Balls were in its hand. Whoever had the last Dragon Ball obviously wanted the others.

Chi-Chi, thinking with her emotions over her brain as per usual, quickly began using the strange laser blasting jewel on her helmet to attack the thief. Panicked by the blasts to its vehicle, the pilot decided it was time to leave. Leaping into the air the robot blasted away in an attempt to escape with its spoils.

Bulma was the first to come to grips with the situation. She grabbed Goku's collar in a fit of rage. "Don't just stand there! Cloud! You! Go! Now!"

The monkey tailed boy didn't really understand what Bulma was saying but he did know that he probably should get on the whole "going after the thief" thing. Quickly he called for his magical cloud and went after the robot.

After he left Bulma sat back on the ground. "Who would do this to me? My journey was almost over. Everything was going so well!"

Ranma by this time was standing. Everything had happened so quickly…but it seemed that the Dragon Balls had been stolen. He clenched his fist in anger. How could this have happened! There was only one damn ball left! "Shit!" He shouted. To which Chi-Chi responded by striking him upon the head with a mallet for using bad language.

Things were bad and Bulma was not taking it well. "How could this have happened? How could the beautiful, sensitive, and brilliant Bulma's adventure end this way? It's not fair…it's not right…"

Ranma had gotten used to this sort of thing from the teenage girl, but that didn't mean he liked to hear it. "Would you calm down? Goku still has his Dragon Ball, right? They can't make a wish without it. All we have to do is steal them back. We were probably gonna steal theirs anyway."

The perked the genius up. "That's right! As long as we have one Dragon Ball our dream is still alive!"

Of course she then realized the capsules she bought had been in the suit case meaning they had no transportation.

Close by other Dagon Ball Hunters had been watching from the sidelines. Ryoga and his reluctant partners Yamcha the bandit and Pu'ar, the strange flying cat-like creature, had been closely watching these negative turn of events.

Yamcha had been the first to speak. "It looks like someone took their Dragon Balls."

The lost boy was worried at this point. "But who did it?"

The bandit just shook his head. "Saotome and his friends had five, we have one. Whoever has the last Dragon Ball must have been the one to take them. I didn't think we'd have to deal with a third party."

"So what should we do Lord Yamcha?" asked Pu'ar.

Yamcha closed his eyes. "We'll have to modify the plan somewhat. They won't be able to get those balls back alone. For now we'll work with them."

At this Ryoga paled. Him…work with Ranma?

Regardless they had to reveal themselves at this point. If they didn't no one would get a wish. Thus the three drove their jeep from their hiding place and approached the rival crew of hunters. Ranma was the first to notice them. He knew these guys must have been around somewhere watching. Were they going to attack? Goku wasn't back yet and even though it killed him to admit it he could not take them both on alone. Regardless the Saotome Heir braced himself; he would never back down from a fight no matter who the enemy was.

As Yamcha stopped and exited his vehicle he noticed Ranma was tense. He'd need a bit of acting to get through this. Ryoga leapt out of the car as well, but he was certainly not happy to see his arch foe. Pu'ar remained hidden in the jeep, as to not scare anyone away. At the same time Yamcha tried his best to ignore Bulma. "Well look who it is, Ryoga: It's our buddy Ranma. Fancy meeting you here or all places."

Ryoga said nothing, but was clearly uncomfortable with what his ally was saying.

Bulma gave them both disgusted looks. While both were extremely attractive they must have thought they were all a bunch of idiots. "Who are you trying to kid with that nonsense?"

"Oh!" Chi-chi exclaimed looking at the two boys. "You're that guy who hit me because you were so in love with me!"

Both of Ranma's rivals sweated. It had slipped their mind that Chi-Chi was here too. Visions of their last encounter where Yamcha had sweet talked his way out of a beating were dancing in their heads.

Ranma was becoming increasingly annoyed. If they wanted to fight he wanted to get down to it, not sit around talking all day. "Listen up jerks, if you wanna piece of me come and get it!"

"OKAY!" Ryoga exclaimed happily, drawing his umbrella from his bag.

Yamcha got between the two before things could get out of hand. "Wait! We're not here to fight. We're here to call a truce."

Bulma smirked evilly. "A truce, eh? Well how about this: You give us the Dragon Ball you're carrying and Ranma won't beat you both within an inch of your lives. How's that?" She said that last part with a seductive wink that almost made Yamcha faint.

But then it hit them what she said. "Y-y-you know about our Dragon Ball?" Ryoga screeched!

Ranma gave his usual cocky grin. "That's right, lost boy. We've known you had that ball for a while. And we know that you and dog-breath over have been following us since we left that desert."

The master of the Wolf Fang Fist growled angrily. "Dog-breath?" He was quickly joining Ryoga's eagerness to simply beat the tar out of the pig tailed fighter.

At this point Goku returned. From his Kinto'un he could see the two rival hunters. Quickly leaping from Kinto'un he joined the others beside his best friend. He held his staff menacingly; ready to fight alongside his "older brother."

Ranma smirked at the arrival of his monkey tailed friend. He cracked his knuckles, his face full of confidence. "Looks like the sides are even now! If you don't wanna give up your Dragon Ball on your own Goku and I'd be happy to beat it out of you!"

Yamcha sighed. He had tried to civil but they were being unreasonable. He went into a stance, preparing to fight with all his might if need be. Ryoga was only too pleased to do the same.

"WAIT!"

All four fighters stopped at Bulma's scream. She was holding her head as if she had a bad headache. "Sorry to interrupt this disgusting display of testosterone, but we may not actually need to fight now that Goku's here." She turned to the boy in question. "Did you get the balls back?"

The short boy shrugged. "That thing was empty when I got to it."

Bulma nodded knowingly. "Then we don't have time for this. We need those balls back or else none of us are going to get a wish. Yamcha wanted to call a truce. If we all work together we should be able to get the balls back no problem."

Everyone seemed to think this was reasonable. Well, everyone except…

"I refuse to work with the man who ruined my life!"

Both groups of Dragon Ball Hunters stared at the bandana clad boy who had shouted that. He had in fact not left his stance and had indeed not taken his eyes of Ranma. And those same eyes were burning. "Ranma, you and I have unfinished business! And I will not let my revenge wait another minute!"

Yamcha sighed. Why was he making this so difficult? "Ryoga, you can settle things with Ranma after we have the balls."

Even Ranma was quickly losing interest in fighting. He shrugged as if he no longer took this whole thing serious. "Yeah, lost boy. Bulma's right; we ain't got time to go through the same song and dance. If you really gotta fight me wait until we at least get the balls back."

Ryoga didn't budge an inch. "You coward! First you run from our fight, then you try to hide in China, then you sneak off to this godforsaken world, then you hide behind a little boy! You're always running! You're running now! I don't care about the Dragon Balls anymore! I will break you! For all my suffering and embarrassment…Ranma, prepare to die!"

Everyone was silent at this. Granted they were disgusted beyond belief of Ryoga's attitude, but they were silent none the less. There wasn't time for this and Ryoga knew it.

However Ranma did something surprising. "Okay. Let's fight."

This caused Bulma to suddenly get upset. Why was he playing along with this deluded idiot! "Ranma, what the hell are you doing?"

Yamcha nodded. "I agree with her sentiment. Our time would be better spent working together."

The pig tailed boy again shrugged his shoulders. "Can't be helped. I really do owe him a fight. And it's my fault he's stuck here. Code of the warrior, right? Besides, Saotome Ranma never backs down from a fight."

Ryoga smirked, showing his fangs. "So you at least have some honor."

Bulma was practically livid. Her expression softened though when Ranma looked at her right in the eyes. For a brief moment it felt like she was melting. "Hey," he said. "Don't bother waiting up. Go ahead with Goku, the brat and bandit boy. I'll catch up after I finish beating up Columbus over there."

Bulma wasn't sure what to say, however something told her she should just give in. It was obvious Ranma and Ryoga were going to fight no matter what. At least this way some of them could actually do something productive. "Fine, but if you get hurt don't come crying back to me. Jerk." Despite what she said there was a real sense of vulnerability in her tone.

Goku looked at his friend. He understood why Ranma wanted to stay. After all it's what he would have done. "Don't worry Big Brother; I'll make sure they don't make the wish before you come back."

Ranma nodded. "Thanks Goku," He turned his attention toward Ryoga. "You guys get going. Get the Dragon Balls."

Given little choice, Bulma, Yamcha, Chi-chi and Yamcha (And Pu'ar) all complied. All four of them climbed into the bandit's car, with Pu'ar still seated inside and drove in the direction of the final Dragon Ball.

As Ranma and Ryoga became far off images Bulma silently whispered to herself. "You better not lose, you pig headed idiot."

* * *

Pilaf was not happy. He was ecstatic mere seconds ago, but his idiot so-called ninja had bumbled things again. The very short, blue skinned, self-proclaimed emperor was currently in his "War Rom" where his own Dragon Ball Radar was stored. Moments ago his servant, the fox ninja Soba, had returned from his mission to steal the approaching Dragon Balls form whatever fools held them. Apparently though he'd only grabbed five out of the seven they needed.

Soba, for his part, wasn't thrilled about the situation either as now he was being yelled at by his master in very embarrassing manner. Mai, a very attractive human female who served mostly as Pilafs bodyguard, agreed with her counterpart. Even though she wasn't at fault she too would be punished. "You two," Pilaf started not bothering to hide the venom that dripped from his words. "You two are the biggest fools on the planet!"

"Yes sir," both servants agreed.

"I should torture for your failings!"

Both servants grimaced. Pilaf wouldn't hesitate to do so if he felt they deserved it enough. They began begging for forgiveness, an act that pleased the little emperor very much. Being so small it pleased him dearly when people bowed and scraped to him out of fear. If he had his way by the end of the night the entire world would do the same. Or at least they would if these bumbling fools had actually returned with all the Dragon Balls instead of merely five!

You see, Pilaf had ambition. He was dead set on ruling the world. Thus he needed the Dragon Balls for this.

"But sir, they'll certainly come here to retrieve the five we have, won't they?" Soba desperately suggested.

Pilaf wasn't listening. After all, these two fools couldn't possibly have anything of interest to say. "Silence! I don't have time for your idiotic suggestions." The tiny "emperor" then snapped his fingers. "Wait! I just got an idea! Those fools we stole the balls from would certainly come to get retrieve the five we have! It's brilliant!"

At that the large Dragon Radar the supposed "evil" Dragon Ball Hunters had been using started detecting the presence of two more balls both heading their way.

Pilaf smiled evilly. "Ha! I was right! Let us prepare to meet these enemies of ours!"

As the little blue man walked out of the room Soba turned to Mai. "I could have sworn it was my idea."

Mai shook her head. "Just let it go. He's not threatening to torture us anymore."

* * *

Ranma rubbed his jaw a little as he faced down his opponent. Ryoga had finally managed to land a hit. The pig tailed fighter had long ago lost track of the time, but he knew it must have been a while as it was sunset now. The fight had seemingly been going his way; he had managed to avoid Ryoga's attacks while at the same time landing his own. But now the Saotome Heir was starting to see the true terror of Hibiki Ryoga.

All the avoiding Ranma had done was now starting to wear him out. He was losing steam and Ryoga had picked up on it. That one punch that got through had already seemingly done more damage than all of the pig tailed boys attacks. Ryoga's wasn't just insanely strong; his endurance and stamina far surpassed his own.

But to this the boy smiled. He had never gotten the chance to fight Ryoga seriously. This moment, this exact moment, was everything Ranma had trained for. The thrill of fighting a strong opponent and the chance to showcase his skills was a high, one the young Saotome was enjoying far more than anything in life. He often felt something similar to this when he sparred with Goku. However this wasn't sparring. This was a real, life or death fight. And despite that Ranma continued to smile.

He couldn't help but wonder if the monkey-tailed boy was rubbing off on him.

Ryoga rushed Ranma once more, his rage and desire to his rival taking over. He would defeat Ranma, right there right now. He would justify his following him to this world and destroying his own life by proving once and for all that he was Ranma's better. The pig tailed boy gracefully leapt of the charge landing a few fight behind the bandana clad fighter. Turning he caught his opponent smiling, which did nothing but enraged him further.

"Why the hell are you smiling?" Ryoga demanded.

Ranma shrugged, his smile not fading. "I dunno. I'm excited, I guess."

The lost boy nearly saw red. Excited? Was he mocking him? "Take this seriously!" he snarled.

"I am," Ranma replied. "I don't know why I'm feeling this way, but it's like the more we fight…"

He never finished his thought, as he noticed something…odd. The sun had been setting a moment ago, but just now everything became dark. That was quick; too quick in fact. What's more the sky was pitch black with no stars. What was going on?

"Hey," he called out to his opponent. "Is it just me or did night come a bit too fast."

Ryoga shook his head angrily. "Trying to make excuses so you can run away again?"

Ranma raised an eyebrow. Ryoga had a one track mind. "Idiot, the sky got black all of a sudden. That ain't natural."

"So what?"

"Think about it, idiot. Something unnatural is going on. All the Dragon Balls might be together. Are you following?"

Ryoga wasn't following.

"Maybe this has something to do with Shenlong. Maybe somebody's summoned him," Ranma spelled out.

The fanged boy thought about this a few seconds. "Maybe Yamcha's using them to get our wishes."

Ranma slapped his own forehead. "You dummy, the Dragon only grants one wish!"

Hearing this statement the wheels in Ryoga's head suddenly started moving rapidly. "What? Then that means..."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, even if your 'partner' has the all Dragon Balls you're shit out of luck."

Ryoga was not happy to hear this. "That back stabbing bastard! I'll kill him!"

The pig tailed youth sighed. He'd finally gotten Ryoga to see things his way. "C'mon, lost boy. If we hurry we may still be able to use the wish to send us back home." Truthfully Ranma was concerned that with the mysterious Dragon Ball thief, Yamcha, and Bulma all wanting the wish for themselves Goku alone may not be able to keep his wish safe. If this darkness was the result of the balls being used he feared that his friend had indeed failed in holding on to his grandfather's ball.

Ryoga nodded in agreement. Exactly ten seconds after doing so his mouth dropped to the floor. "WHAT? YOU MEAN THEY CAN SEND US BACK HOME?"

Ranma rubbed his ears. Damn that moron could yell. "That's what I just said, idiot."

Quickly Ryoga found himself digging through his backpack. Liberating a capsule he then tossed it. He obviously must have come across it in his travels on this world. A cloud of smoke later a jeep was waiting to be used. "Hurry up! We don't have any time to lose."

Ranma rolled his deep blue eyes, but nonetheless hopped into the driver's seat. Ryoga was right about one thing. They had no time to lose.

* * *

Things had gone from bad to worse. Bulma and the others had tracked the ball to the Pilaf's castle, but found themselves lured into a rather simple trap. They were captured then drugged. When they awoke they found the two balls they had were now gone. With only one option left Goku attempted to blow a hole through their stone prison wall using a Kamehameha. Only able to create a small hole Pu'ar was the only one who could get through. Changing into a bat he managed to approach the site were Pilaf and his goons had gathered the balls. It happened to be right out in front of the castle. Sadly right as the shape shifting cat reached them Shenlong the Dragon God was called. The site of the huge, ferocious looking dragon caused the little cat to freeze. He was petrified at the site of this…this monster! From their prison the others too couldn't believe their eyes. Shenlong was…impressive to say the least.

Pilaf too was very much afraid. He never expected to the so-called "Eternal Dragon" to be so grand. Even with the world literally at his fingertips he hesitated.

Shenlong's voice was deep and foreboding. It was like death had somehow formed words on the mortal plane. _**"You, who have awakened the dragon, are allowed one wish. I will grant any desire, no matter what it may be."**_

Mai, who also feeling the fear, called out her master. This was the moment he had been waiting for after all. "Sir! The wish!"

The tiny emperor blinked. Yes, the wish. This was his time. The world was his for the taking! With new found courage he looked up at the magical creature.

Up the road Ranma was driving as fast as the vehicle would allow. The closer they came to the where Goku and the others had headed the more apparent it became that the Dragon God had been summoned. Seeing a huge, awe inspiring dragon was the first clue. I was also becoming obvious that neither of their group were the ones doing the summoning.

"Shit," Ranma muttered. "I don't see Bulma or Goku anywhere."

Ryoga was finding himself overcome by his emotions. "What is that thing? Is that the Dragon?"

"Focus, lost boy!" Ranma retorted. "I don't see dog-breath anywhere either. I'm guessing those guys are the ones that stole the balls." His eyes narrowed as they approached their supposed rivals. "And looks like they're about to get their wish."

Ryoga was always one who tended to act first and think later, removed one of his many bandanas. He barred his fangs as h stood from his seat. "I won't let them!" With that he threw the projectile straight for Pilaf.

The blue skinned imp raised his hands. This was it! "Oh great and powerful Shenlong, I wish for complete and total control of-ow!"

He was cut off when Ryoga's bandana slammed into the side of his head. The force knocked him over. Mai and Soba quickly found themselves turning toward the attackers. They were both shocked to see the jeep coming right for them at reckless speed.

"Oh shit," Ranma yelled. "I think we're going too fast!"

"What?" Ryoga replied. "Can't you drive?"

"It's your damn car! Why don't you drive?"

"Are you crazy? I've never driven a car before in my life!"

"Probably 'cause you'd just end driving off the side of a cliff!" Ranma may have had more to say, but at this point they needed to bail. Now. "Jump!"

Both martial artists leapt from the speeding jeep, this being their only chance to re-capture the Dragon Balls. Both hit the ground rolling, using skill to keep themselves from being too banged up. The jeep kept going into a straight line, right into Pilafs castle, right though the wall. It did finally stop though.

Ranma was panting as he picked himself up. "I can't believe I crashed two cars in one day…"

Pilaf, seeing all this hectic action, momentarily forgot about the dragon. He just wanted these intruders to pay. "Kill them!" He yelled from his spot on the ground.

Mai was quick to obey. Pulling out a rifle she began firing wildly at the two boys. Again moving on instinct Ryoga tossed another bandana, this time hitting Mai's hands knocking the rifle away. It would hit him later that he essentially attacked an "innocent girl."

Soba, fearing his master more than any teenage punks, leapt at Ranma swing his sword with the intent to kill. The pig tailed boy nearly laughed at how slow his attacks were. Was this weird fox man a joke ninja or something? After dodging a few swipes form his katana he countered with a swift kick that took out the would-be ninja easily.

Shaking his head Ranma looked rather disappointed. "Man, after all that you'd think there'd be a more dramatic fight." Turning his attention toward Pilaf, who was now with no line of defense, the pig tailed youth frowned. "Okay, shrimp-o, where'd you hide our friends?

Pilaf was, for his part, scared out of his mind. Who were these people? How did they dispatch his cronies so easily? Why were they threatening his dream of world domination?

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Look pal, I know you're the one who stole our Dragon Balls. What the hell did you do to the monkey tailed boy and the annoying green haired chick?"

He told them. Then he ran. He ran fast. Too scared to think rationally the only thing the tiny emperor could think to do was run for his life. Though he silently swore revenge against the pig-tailed boy and his bandana clad companion. His two servants were quick to follow. After all they were seemingly no match for the new arrivals.

As they watched the tiny man take off into the distance both young martial artists shrugged. They didn't expect it to be that easy. Pilaf and his minions weren't exactly the most dangerous and threatening of enemies, it would seem.

Soon, Bulma, Goku, Chi-Chi and Yamcha were all freed. Both groups of Dragon Ball Hunters were now collected in front of the very thing they sought from the beginning: Shenlong. The question now was who gets the wish.

Yamcha dared to suggest he use the wish to rid himself of his fear of women. That was put to a halt when Ryoga punched the bandit out, something the lost boy had been aching to do for a while. He never saw eye to eye with the other boy's less than honorable lifestyle. The fanged fighter then declared that he would use this opportunity to wish himself back to his world. Chi-Chi, while wanting to wish for the perfect wedding for herself and Goku, wisely kept her mouth shut. Ryoga was scary.

Bulma found herself torn. She looked over at Ranma, who was for his part strangely silent. This was it; the moment she had been dreading. And the cocky martial artist hadn't made things easier for her by saving her life. She looked over at the pig tailed boy. Mustering her courage she spoke. "Go ahead," was all she said.

Her tone was sad, something Ranma hadn't really heard from her since their journey started. "What?" was all he could think to say.

The teen genius shrugged, smiling a little. "My wish was pretty dumb, right? You're the one who really needs it. A boyfriend isn't as important as what you need. I don't know if there's any way for you to get back to your world. So...just go."

The pig tailed youth wasn't sure what to say. After all the fighting over who got the wish Bulma was actually conceding and letting him have it. But…there was still the question of if he wanted to go; that was something that had been on his mind for weeks. In all seriousness what did he have to go back to? A father who had done nothing but make his life difficult, a mother who he hadn't seen in ten years, and a lonely life on the road. Here he had something he never had before; friends. If he stayed he could go train with the turtle hermit and probably become a much better fighter than he was now. He could become stronger than that Ox-King guy, maybe even stronger than the old man himself.

Plus the way Bulma was looking now, vulnerable and not yelling at him…she was looking pretty cute.

"I…" Ranma let out, as if trying to find the words to say. "You know…I guess...I don't have to-"

As he said this Bulma could feel herself becoming hopeful. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

Everything was silent and time was moving slow…until Goku's voice could be heard addressing the Shenlong. "Hey Dragon! I wish you could send Ranma and Ryoga back to their world!"

Both Ranma and Bulma snapped their heads to the short martial artist who was smiling gleefully; completely ignorant of anything he just interrupted with the wish. In his mind there was still the danger of other people messing up Ranma's wish. So the obvious thing to do was to make it before anyone else got the chance. "There you go, Big Brother! I'll see you later."

Ranma was shocked that Goku had gone ahead and made the wish. Here he was, seriously considering staying, and the monkey tailed boy went ahead and signed his ticket home. Both he and the lost began glowing brightly, seemingly from the Dragon God's power. Before they left this world the entire group heard Ranma (As well as Bulma) yelling out "Goku, you idiot!"

With that Saotome Ranma and Hibiki Ryoga vanished from the world of the Dragon Balls.

The Dragon's job done it prepared to take its leave. _**"Your wish has been granted. And now I bid you farewell."**_Shenlong then followed Ranma and disappeared in a flash of light.

And that was that. Ranma was gone. Bulma felt like falling to her knees. It had happened too suddenly. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye, not really. This…this wasn't fair at all!

Goku looked to toward the sky, not even noticing the balls shooting off in different directions and scattering. No, his attention was on the sky, as if he could sort of see Ranma wherever he was now.

Then he saw the full moon up there. Then he blacked out. Then all hell broke loose.

To be continued…

Preview for next chapter:

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. Well it's finally over. My adventure on Goku's world is done with. I can finally get back where my life was taking me before.

Shampoo: You! Panda Man's son! You I challenge!

Ranma: Who the hell is this crazy chick?

Ukyo: I've finally caught up with you, Ranma. Prepare to die!

Ranma: Ucchan? Why are you here?

Genma: Quit stalling, boy. You have a fiancée waiting for you in Tokyo!

Ranma: Oh come on! Can't I even get a break on my own damn world? Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Ranma's Return Home! I'm Engaged to Who?"

Goku: Am I even in the story anymore?

Author's Note

Soba, if I'm recalling my history correctly, was the original name for the ninja working for Pilaf. Somehow it got changed to Shou (I think) in the anime and Toriyama eventually did the same in the manga. For this story's purposes Soba is the name I'll be using. He's a very minor character, so it's probably not a big deal. On the subject of Dragon Ball names if I happen to come across a one that has different spellings (Like Kuririn) or one that was altered for the American version (Like Tenshinhan) I'll simply pick the one I prefer to use or the one I'm more familiar with. No need to tell me the actual spelling of "Vegeta" or anyone else's name. I probably already know it.


	8. Ranma’s Return Home!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; I have no money on me! Try again in about five years.

**The story thus far:** A sudden display of rebellion against Genma caused Ranma to be tossed into a random spring at Jusenkyo. Unlike the other pools there this one turned out to be a one way portal to the world of Son Goku. Now, teamed up with the teen genius Bulma and the "Monkey King" himself Saotome Ranma begins his quest to find the mythical Dragon Balls…and a way back to his own world!

**Last Chapter:** After having the balls stolen by the nefarious Pilaf, fighting Ryoga to a standstill, and rescuing his friends (and the world), Ranma had finally managed to collect all seven Dragon Balls. In a surprising change of character Bulma offered give up her wish to let the pig tailed boy return home. However just as Ranma was seemingly about to change his mind about leaving Goku, trying to be helpfully, wished that Saotome Heir and Ryoga would be sent back to their world.

**Chapter 8**

**Ranma's Return Home!**

"**I'm Engaged to Who?"**

Stupid monkey!

Those were the thoughts of Saotome Ranma as the world of Son Goku began to melt away. Suddenly a flash of light blinded him, forcing his eyes shut. When he opened them he could see that his surroundings were different now. The landscape was familiar; a valley that was littered with springs. He stared at it as if disappointed. Scratch that, he _was_ completely disappointed. "Is this..."

Ryoga smiled brightly. "Yes! This is Jusenkyo! We're back! We're back!" With that the fanged fighter began dancing gleefully. Nice to know someone was happy about this.

They had returned to China. Shenlong had come through and transported them back to their world. As far as Ranma could tell he and his rival were standing at the entrance of the training grounds. It was early morning. As the young fighter looked on at the so-called "pools of sorrow" he wondered which one would lead him back to Goku and Bulma's world. Maybe if he tried jumping in random ones…

He quickly shook his head. Didn't Ryoga say something about the springs being cursed? Plus…he had made it to his own world, why would he want to return? All that work, after all, would go to waste. Yes, he was back on his Earth and that's all that mattered. A happy ending.

Yeah right.

The sounds of "Excuse me, sirs?" interrupted his thoughts. Both fighters turned to see a man dressed in the same clothes as the Jusenkyo guide. Ryoga quickly noted this man was not the same guide. He was tall, thin, and wearing glasses. "Sirs, can this one help you?"

Ranma regarded this man for a moment before answering. "Are you the guide here?"

The tall Chinese man nodded. "This one is taking over for cousin while he out with stupid, fat costumer."

The young fighter perked when he heard that. "Was the guy Japanese? Did he have glasses? Greedy as hell?"

The guide nodded once more. "Yes, he was those things. But this one think 'fat' and 'stupid' fit better. You know him?"

Ranma steeled himself upon hearing the description. "Yeah, he's my old man."

The guide's eyes widened with you shock. "You the fat one's son! You actually alive!"

Well that was somewhat expected, Ranma thought. "Yeah. I'm alive. No thanks to my pop."

The taller Chinese man was silent for a few moments, before laughing hysterically. Both Ryoga and Ranma looked at him with puzzlement. Eventually the guide sobered up and explained. "The fat one begged this one's cousin for help to bring son, you, back. Cousin say village of courageous women help. Maybe. This month ago. Fat one and cousin no come back yet."

Village of Courageous Women? Somehow things on Ranma's home world didn't seem that much more normal than on Goku's all of a sudden. Nevertheless now that Ranma was back home Genma was all he had. He had to find him and this was a good place to stat.

Focusing on the task at hand rather than the past the pig tailed youth faced the guide. The Chinese man, for his part, seemed eager to help though it was probably for the entertainment value that surrounded the Saotomes' situation. "Hey pal," Ranma started. "You think you can take me to that village?"

The guide smiled brightly. "Well, this one suppose he help. But it not like people come see springs too often."

Ryoga raised an eyebrow at this. He was no longer dancing with joy. In fact he seemed to be snarling. "Ranma…have you forgotten our fight!"

The pig tailed boy shook his head in disgust. The lost boy had such a one track mind. "Give it rest, moron. Can't you ever think about something other than that stupid fight?"

Ryoga replied predictably. "Stupid fight? Stupid fight? I suffered to meet with you!" To emphasis his point, the fanged fighter pointed the springs. "I had to spend weeks in that crazy world thanks to you! And you just keep backing out! You insufferable coward!"

Ranma, not for the first time, pinched his nose in frustration. One good thing about being away from Goku was that he didn't have to deal with the monkey boy's constant idiocy; however Ryoga seemed to be picking up the slack. "Look, lost boy, I'd love to spend the rest of my day beating the hell out of you so you'll finally shut up, but I gotta catch up with my old man. When I do I'll be happy to knock your teeth down your throat. Hell, we can do it every day for the rest of our lives if you want it so badly. But like I said I gotta catch up with him first."

You could see the anger coursing throughout his body. "Just another excuse! Fine! But this time I'm coming with you! I won't let you run away again."

The pig tailed martial artist just shrugged. It couldn't be helped. "Okay, let's go."

It took three days to reach Joketsuzoku. The journey was, for the most part, uneventful aside from frequent arguments from the two teenagers. When they finally got there Ranma found himself fairly surprised. He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting to see but it wasn't a rural farm town where everyone was practically living in huts. The first thing he noticed about this place was that there were a lot of women. He saw a few men wandering around but for the most part he saw people of the female persuasion. The second thing was the way all these women carried themselves. Almost everyone he saw had the movement of martial artists. Even when he was traveling Goku's screwy world he never came across anything like this.

"Here, sirs, is village of courageous women, Joketsuzoku," the guide informed them. "Too bad. You should have come back from abyss a few weeks ago."

"Why's that?" Ranma asked as her looked around the village.

The guide shrugged "There big tournament. Big food prize every year."

The pig tailed youth smirked. "Sounds like an easy meal."

Ryoga, hearing this, growled a bit. "Have you no honor? Picking a fight with women just to fill your belly?"

Their delightful helpful guided rolled his eyes at his costumers lack of local knowledge. "Sirs you no understand. It very bad if you pick fight with women here!"

Unfortunately (As we shall soon see) their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of one of the locals. She was shorter than the two boys and sported with exotic purple hair, maybe around their age, very attractive…and very angry looking. She began yelling at the three new arrivals, though neither Ranma nor Ryoga had any clue what she was saying. Obviously it was Chinese and neither was very versed in it. Thankfully the guide obviously was as he proceeded to have a conversation with the girl.

Ranma leaned over to his rival. "You getting any of this?"

Ryoga simply shook his head. After a bit the girl calls out to another villager. She says…something briefly causing the villager to run off. The guide, remembering his costumers didn't speak the language finally decided to fill the two Japanese youth in on the satiation. "This village champion. She win tournament I talk about before. Xian Pu."

Ryoga raised his eyebrow at this. "Shampoo?"

"What kind of dumb name is that?" Ranma asked.

The girl, now assumed to be named "Shampoo," frowned hearing this. Though she didn't understand it she did indeed understood insults. She began yelling at the two.

"What's this chick's problem?" Ranma asked.

"She say she no like tone," the guide explained. He then said something aside to Shampoo which seemed to calm her down. Turning back to the boys he said "I tell her you just stupid foreigners."

"Gee thanks," Ranma mumbled.

"Anyway," the guide continued. "She say outsiders not welcomed in village anymore."

"I thought you said the village was friendly," Ryoga reminded the guide.

"It is," was the response. "Or it was. She won't tell this one why we not allowed in. She say elder come down and explain everything."

Ranma was a bit annoyed at this, having come all this way for seemingly nothing. "Can't you ask her about my old man? See if he's been here."

The guide shuddered a little at this. "Sir, I not want to make her angry. Amazon women easy to make mad. And when they mad they very violent."

The Saotome Heir rolled his eyes at that. He was confident that no matter how angry this girl became he could easily handle her. Luckily there would be little need for this as at this point a creature stranger than anything Ranma or Ryoga had seen, recent events included, approached them.

Ryoga looked confused as he saw it. "They just let dried out monkeys wander around the town, huh?" It responded by hitting with a cane over the head.

"At least it doesn't have blue skin this time," Ranma remarked, though he too was struck by the creature.

It was short; very short. Its long white hair was barely noticeable with its huge eyes staring into your soul. Perhaps it was wearing similar clothing as the other villagers, but they draped over her.

"You two should learn to respect your elders," it replied it perfect Japanese, but with a sort of a wicked witch sort of feeling to it.

"A talking monkey?" Ryoga replied, as he was struck again.

"I am called Cologne," the creature said. "I am the matriarch of Joketsuzoku. I'm sorry to say that we are no longer allowing outsiders to roam freely through our village."

Ranma shrugged at that. "Look, I just want to find my old man. I heard he was coming here."

The old woman (Who still resembled a dried out monkey) nodded, knowingly. "Ah. You're searching for your father. We do not receive many visitors and we receive even less Japanese ones. There was a man here a few weeks ago along with a Jusenkyo guide. The man was Japanese, fat, bald and insatiably greedy."

The pig tailed boy sighed. It sounded like Genma had been here. "Yeah, that's my Pop."

Cologne smiled. At least Ranma thought she was smiling. Her face was so wrinkly that it was hard to tell. "Sonny," she started. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your father has been deemed a wanted criminal by the council."

The young martial artist rolled his eyes. Typical Genma. Cologne continued. "You see we were having our annual tournament which my great-granddaughter Shampoo here successfully won. However your father decided to eat the feast that was to be the prize."

"Oh crap," Ranma replied as things started clicking in his head.

"Indeed," Cologne replied back. She then said something in Chinese over at Shampoo who immediately began staring daggers at the young Saotome. She turned back to Ranma. "Your father headed east."

Ryoga was also seemingly growing angry. "That Genma…I can see the family resemblance with you, Ranma. You're both honor-less cowards."

"Yeah, whatever lost boy," Ranma replied. He turned his attention back to the amazon. "Look, I'm sorry about my Pop. His brain is in his stomach. When I find him I'll punch him a few times for ya. Hell, I have a list of things I need to punch him for."

"That's very kind of you, Sonny Boy, but I'm afraid that won't be sufficient. You're father stole the champion's prize and therefore the champion has a right to challenge him. And since he's not here she's challenging you." The guide was about to say something but a very evil glare from the amazon elder shut him up. Apparently the two boys didn't notice this.

The pig tailed youth threw his arms up at Cologne's "request." "Are you kidding me? I'm not gonna fight a girl just because Pop ate her dinner." Shampoo responded to this in Mandarin. Whatever she said caused her grandmother to chuckle (Cackle?). "What's so funny, ya old crone?"

"Oh, my great-granddaughter was just commenting on the lack of courage in the Japanese. I can't say I disagree. Or perhaps you're just a weakling. I suppose I could understand that. You probably run from fights all the time."

Ryoga nodded, knowingly. "It's like she's known you all your life."

Ranma ignored his rival's comment, but he couldn't ignore what the amazons were saying. "Fine, Miss Purple Hair. Let's dance."

They danced. On a challenge log. Ranma won. Easily in fact. The entire time Cologne was grinning. After the dust settled the pig tailed boy came back to the old woman. "Are we done now? My old man should be in the clear now, right?"

The old woman nodded, though her smile had yet to disappear. "Of course. As far as I'm concerned your father's business with us is done. But yours is just beginning."

The young pig tailed fighter raised an eyebrow at this. "Wait a second, old crone, you said we'd be in the clear and free if I beat Shampoo."

The old woman looked over to her granddaughter who was picking herself off from the ground. The purpled haired amaazon returns to the glance to Cologne, who nods knowingly. Shampoo, now on her feet, approaches the pig tailed boy. For reasons he himself couldn't figure out he was unable to stop what was happening.

Shampoo passionately kissing him.

The reactions were mixed. Cologne was simply smirking while the guide's face was buried in his hands. Ryoga was just shocked.

Ranma quickly pushed the amazon away, completely flabbergasted as to what just happened. "Whoa, whoa! What the hell's going on?"

The guide spoke up. "You sir is now married. Congratulations?"

"Married? How the hell are we married?"

The guide sighed sadly. "When Amazon is beat by man they is married. You fall for oldest trick in book."

Ranma felt like a crumbling stone statue as his brain processed the information. Ryoga pat his rival on the shoulder. "I'm starting to think that the weirdness actually just follows you around."

Cologne chuckled at his. "I knew you were strong the moment I saw you, son-in-law. You'll make an excellent addition to our village and you'll provide Shampoo with many strong daughters." In other words "breeding stock."

Ranma snapped out of his shock for moment when Cologne said that. "Hey, you said my old man went East, right? I better go get him. You know…let him know the good news. Yeah."

With that Ranma grabbed his two traveling companions and raced off with blinding speed towards East leaving Shampoo and her grandmother somewhat startled.

"Oh son-in-law," Cologne sighed, more frustrated than angry. "There is no place you can go, no place you can hide that I cannot and will not follow."

The game was on.

…

It took two days before Ranma felt safe enough for he and his friends to rest, however once they were settled they found little trace of Genma. A few more days past, one of which they narrowly avoided an attack by Shampoo while in a restaurant. What little signs they found pointed back towards Jusenkyo to which Ranma greatly complained that all of this could have been avoided if they just stayed where they were (Though Ryoga reminded him that it was his idea to leave in the first place). When the group reached the front gates of the valley they were shocked to see the regular Jusenkyo Guide racing away from the area at his top speed (Which was slow).

"Cousin?" the tall one said. "Why you running?"

"Aiya! You found the fat one's son?" said the short one.

"Yes, he come back on his own. Why you running?"

The true guide of Jusenkyo lowered his head."This one and the fat one attacked by masked man! I run before fat one use as human shield."

Ranma pondered this news. "Is it an Amazon or something?"

Ryoga shook his head. "He said it was a man."

The pig tailed boy though about it for probably longer than he should have considering before saying "Well…better make sure the guy doesn't kill him….I guess."

The group made their way to the pools of sorrow only to find Genma being attacked by the masked assailant...who was using a giant spatula as his weapon. Something else of note was that Genma was clutching onto what looked like a small cask of some sort of liquid for dear life.

"Feel the wrath of the one you left behind!" the man said.

"Ukyo, please have mercy! I was poor and could barely feed Ranma and myself!"

Hearing this set a few alarms in Ranma's head. His father was being strangely forward with this guy. "What the hell is he talking about, Pop? What'd you do this time?"

Both men looked over towards the pig tailed boy. Genma eyes widened as he realized his son was back….then they glinted sinisterly. He turned towards the one he called "Ukyo." "The truth is that Ranma is the one who made the decision to leave you. He's the one you should truly be angry at."

Ukyo took a good look at the newly arrived Saotome heir. Realizing that he probably was indeed who Genma claimed he was anger boiled quickly down deep within his heart as he leapt towards Ranma with ill intensions. "Ranma, prepare to die!"

Splash!

In an instant the mystery Ukyo was gone. Genma had clearly just thrown the water from his cask at the unsuspecting fighter just as it drenched him he was gone; disappeared into thin air.

"What…what happened to him?" Ranma asked.

Genma smirked as if he done the cleverest thing imaginable. "That was the same water from the spring you fell into, my boy. We were carrying it with us hoping to find a way to reverse its power. We're all just lucky that I hadn't gotten rid of it yet."

Ranma's head nearly exploded from that. Genma had just doomed some poor slob to life on Goku's world!

"Pop! What'd you do that for?" Ranma demanded.

"What? She'll be alright, son. After all you somehow made it back."

Surprisingly it was Ryoga who spoke up. "What do you mean 'she'? Was that guy...a girl?"

Ranma felt himself become even angrier at this. "A girl, Pop? You just sent a defenseless girl off the damn planet? What was she talking about with that whole 'left behind" crap? What is she, my sister or something?"

Genma didn't like Ranma's tone. He marched over to his son and glared the way a father does towards a wayward son. "First of all, boy, Ukyo is anything but defenseless so I'm sure she'll be fine. Second of all she's not your sister. She is…or was, your fiancée."

"WHAT?"

And so Genma explained the story of Ukyo and how he and her father made the arrangement for them to be married and the fact that he ended up stealing the Ukyo's dowry and abandoning her.

"So you see Ranma, now that she's gone we don't have to worry about the engagement anymore," Genma proudly announced.

Every person present looked on at Genma as if he was the worst thing on Earth. Genma, not noticing this, went on. "Plus now that you're back we can head back to Japan. You're real fiancée is waiting for you, after all."

Ranma was shaking with hatred and anger. "Another fiancée…"

Genma nodded. "Indeed, boy. To a very old friend of mine's daughter."

"So," Ranma went on. "First you toss me into that spring, then you trick poor stupid Ryoga into following me-"

"That's right," Ryoga said from behind. He paused before saying "Hey, who are you calling stupid?"

The pig tailed boy went on. "Then you piss off the amazons and now they're after me, then I find out that you've been engaging me to any guy you meet on the street's daughter, one of which you send on a one way ticket to another goddamn world for no…good…reason!"

Genma looked as if he wasn't sure what Ranma's point was. "A martial artist's life is fraught with peril, son."

"KAMEHAMEHA!"

A wave of blue chi collided with the Genma with such force that it literally sent him clear out of the valley. The two guides were shocked to have seen the young man perform such an act of mysticism, while Rygoa seethed with jealousy. Ranma for his part was a combination of surprised and delighted that he had finally managed to do that attack…and an impressive one at that. But that feeling soon left as determination took over.

He looked over to the two guides. "Which on is the spring that takes me back?"

"Back?" the shorter guide asked, puzzled. "You mean Gate-Way Spring? Why you want to go back? You just got here?"

"Ukyo got a bad deal with my old man," Ranma explained. "And now she's trapped on the Dragon Ball world. I gotta take responsibility."

The guides were both surprised by this; the world where the Gate-Way Spring leads is said to be impossible to return from and yet this boy (And his friend) managed to find a way to do this. Whatever horrors they may have faced in what they can only assume was some sort of dark realm the young man now seemed bent on returning.

Ranma was growing impatient. "Well, you gonna help or not? I don't wanna have to keep jumping into springs until I find it!"

The short guide nodded. It wouldn't do for the young man to get himself cursed. "This way."

Soon the group were standing over the infamous spring; the vortex to the World of Dragon Balls. It had barely been a week since he left it and now the heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts was preparing to return. The time he spent there, he decided, had indeed been the best time of his life. His unhappy return to his home world had just been an all too constant reminded of the truth: here on his own Earth he was not in control of his own destiny. If he wanted to be free of Genma or whatever obligations he had set for him here he needed to leave. Back to where Goku lived.

Back to Bulma.

Ranma shook his head. Where did that come from? Bulma, of all people, was probably the best reason to stay the hell away from that world. But above all else the main incentive to go was to bring Ukyo back. They had been friends at one time, despite it being so long ago. He owed it to him…her.

"If my old man comes back looking for me," Ranma said, softly and less jovial then he tended to be. "Tell him I ain't coming back."

Ranma's departure was cut short by the snarling of Ryoga. "You're just going to leave without finishing things with me, Saotome?"

The pig tailed martial artist simply sighed. Of course Ryoga like a moron would simply jump in after him. It didn't matter; he would just use the Dragon Balls to send him back with Ukyo. "Come along then, lost boy. Just try to keep up."

With that Ranma hopped into the spring, followed by Ryoga. Both young men disappeared in the pool of sorrow to rescue a girl they barely knew.

To be continued…

**Next Time:**

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here.

Goku: Hooray!

Ranma: What are you so happy 'bout, monkey boy?

Goku: I was afraid the story ended with the last chapter! But now I get to come back after all!

Ranma: Man, you're easily amused. Anyway looks like I'm back on Goku's world. Now all I gotta do is convince Ukyo not to kill me.

Ukyo: Easier said than done, huh "Ranchan"?

Ranma: Where'd Goku get to anyway? Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King…"Ranchan & Ucchan's Excellent Adventure!"

**Author's Note:**

Well there you go; a new chapter and only something like four years late. I'd be shocked if anyone who used to read this story is still waiting around for this but whatever. This chapter was slowly worked on over the course of the last few years but isn't anything particularly special. While I would like to write more we'll see if I actually can. One day I'll re-write earlier chapters. But not today.

Update: As of today I have in fact re-written the earlier chapters, this one included. Go me.


	9. Ranchan & Ucchan's Excellent Adventure!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (Or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; huge cell phone debt has already taken everything I own!

**The Story Thus Far:** Saotome Ranma, after an mishap involving the Gate-Way Spring, found himself trapped in the World of Dragon Balls. After meeting and befriending Son Goku and the teen genius Bulma he managed to recover all seven spheres and wished himself home. However the young man has now abandoned his old life on his home world, choosing exile after his father Genma banished the boy's oldest friend Kuonji Ukyo to the fate he himself just escaped. Vowing never to return home Ranma again steps into "Dragon World" in the hopes of sending his friend back with a wish from the Eternal Dragon…and hopefully cut all ties to his own past once and for all!

**Chapter 9**

**Ranchan and Ucchan's Excellent Adventure!**

For the second time in his life Ranma found himself falling through the skies even after having just jumped through a spring. Despite having done all this before the pig tailed boy was still struck hard by the impact of the lake close by to Son Goku's cottage. Dazed it took a moment for Ranma to regain his senses. Once he did he took a look around while trying to stay afloat. Ryoga, having come in after him, was nowhere to be seen though the ripple effect in the surrounding area made it clear that the boy was literally just here.

"Damn it, lost boy," Ranma muttered to himself. This wasn't to be unexpected of course. Chances are Ryoga hit the water, swam in a random direction was now lost as hell. The Hibiki boy was probably long gone despite having just gotten there. As mentioned before Ryoga covers a lot of ground when he's lost and he's _**always**_ lost.

Knowing he couldn't waste time worrying about his rival the Saotome Heir quickly made his way to shore. Ukyo didn't have much of a lead on him so she had to be close, however every second counted. He needed to find her fast…before something else did.

"Her". It was still weird to think of Ukyo as a girl. All this time he had truly believed her to be a boy. Upon further thought on the subject Ranma clutched his head in disgust. "Oh man! I'm no better than that idiot monkey Goku! What the hell is wrong with me?" After a brief stint of banging his head against a nearby tree Ranma began his search.

Ukyo wished she never went to China. She wished her father had never made that promise with Saotome Genma. But most of all she wished she knew where she was. In fact the first two wishes were directly related to the third because wherever she was currently it certainly wasn't Earth. She had her first suspicion about this when a large Tyrannosaurus Rex had found her wandering around the forest and decided to make her its lunch.

The young chef had an amazing deductive logic, you see.

Now the girl found herself running for dear life as the terrible lizard gained on her. Ukyo always thought that, in preparing for final revenge against the Saotomes, she was prepared to die. It turns out that she wasn't nearly as prepared as she thought. As luck would have it (Bad luck that is) in her mad dash to escape certain doom she didn't notice the small log in front of her. Tripping over it Ukyo face planted into the muck of the forest.

As the T-Rex got in close Ukyo felt the cold icy hand of death all around her. It was a giant flesh eating lizard monster after all. While not the most rational person to begin with the fear and hysteria of the situation caused the girl scream up to the heavens "This is all your fault, Saotome Ranma…you jackass!"

As if on cue, right before the T-Rex went in for the kill, Ukyo was quickly scooped up by the more agile Ranma who quickly leapt from tree to tree in the hopes of avoiding the monster. It took Ukyo a few seconds to realize she was saved, now resting in the very boy she just cursed's capable arms. "Ranma…?"

"Yeah," Ranma replied. "Sorry 'bout this."

"Am I dreaming?"

"Nope."

"So that's a real dinosaur following us?"

"Yep."

"Mind if I pass out?"

Ranma wore a cocky grin. "Feh, this is the best part!"

With that said the Saotome Heir gracefully jumped from his tree right over the side of the large mountain where they currently were. Ukyo, having gone from the jaws of a T-Rex right into certain death from falling, was going into hysterics. "AAAAAAHHHHH!" Was the smartest thing she was capable of saying.

"To me…BABY GAMERA!" To Ranma's surprise the flying turtle didn't show up. And that ground down there was getting closer. "I said…TO ME, BABY GAMERA!" Still nothing. '"GODDAMN IT YOU UGLY EXCUSE FOR A TURTLE! I SAID 'TO ME'!"

Finally the rocket turtle made an appearance, catching the two on his back seconds before they would have hit the ground. Ukyo had passed out by this time. It was all a little too much for her to process all at once.

Ranma grimaced at his turtle servant. "Cutting it a little close, weren't ya? What the hell took you so long?"

"Forgive me, young master," Baby Gamera said in his usual gruff voice. "But I totally thought you were dead. My bad."

As the turtle took for higher ground Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Dead? Who have you been talking to?"

"You may not realize it, master," Gamera started. "But we flying turtles share a psychic link with our human counterparts. The moment the venerable Muten Roshi gave me to you our bond was forged. That's why I always knew where you were when I was summoned."

Ranma frowned. "That's really creepy."

Baby Gamera ignored him. "But for a while I could not sense you at all. I thought you had died on your journey."

The pig tailed boy nodded. If what the ugly turtle was saying was true it means he was undetectable while back on his own world. "Sorry to disappoint you, turtle, but I ain't dead yet."

"Darn," the turtle said.

The pig tailed boy sudden thought of something important. "Uh, hey Gamera, you can't read my mind or anything with this crazy link can you?"

Gamera shook his head. "I simply can sense vague impressions, master." Ranma gave a sigh of relief at that. However the turtle quickly added "By the way, if you like Bulma so much why don't you just ask her out?"

Ranma's face turned beet red at that. "Damn it turtle, stay out of my head!"

The flying turtle gave a toothy grin. "Your mind is an open book, master!"

"Screw you," was the retort. "Who could ever like a spoiled brat like her anyway?"

"In any case where are we going master?"

Ranma pointed downwards. "Drop us off at that cottage down there. We got a monkey to find."

Much to Ranma's chagrin Goku was not at his home, although he suspected that he had been there recently as some of his belongings were missing. This was a pretty bad situation because he desperately needed his friend to aide him in collecting the Dragon Balls as he had no idea what had become of them after the he was wished away. Shrugging he decided to take the opportunity to get situated. Taking the still unconscious Ukyo into Goku's cottage he placed her in a bed and went off to collect his thoughts.

Here's what he knew for sure: Bulma, Goku, that jerk Yamcha, and that little girl Chi-Chi were all present when the Dragon Balls were used to wish both he and Ryoga back home and therefore any of them should be able to tell him what happened. He would need to track them down. Bulma was the obvious choice but he had no idea where she lived, unfortunately. Still being new to this world the pig tailed boy didn't have a huge grasp of the geography of the planet; even if he knew what city she lived in it would be impossible for him to easily find it.

Ranma's inner monologue was cut short by the weight of a giant battle spatula coming down on his head. The pig tailed boy, now grounded, looked up at his assailant. "That hurt, you know."

Ukyo, no longer unconscious, was clearly annoyed with her former friend; standing over him in a fighting stance Ranma could sense the anger surrounding her; further evidence that girl were scary and dangerous. "Okay Ranma, I think it's time you told me the whole story here!"

Ranma sat up, ignoring the throbbing bump on his head Ukyo just created. "It's simple really: we're on a alternate Earth that's filled with talking animals and dinosaurs that's only reachable when you use the Gate-Way Spring in Jusenkyo. My old man splashed you with water from the spring so I came in after ya."

The fighting cook narrowed her eyes. "You call that simple? Do you really expect me to believe any of that?"

The Saotome Heir shrugged. "There was that T-Rex that tried to make you its lunch."

"That was a dream," Ukyo claimed.

"Well," Ranma said in response. "There's Baby Gamera over there."

"Hello," Baby Gamera said from outside the cottage, waving his claw.

Ukyo dropped her spatula upon seeing the turtle speaking to her. "Um…hello? Ranma, is that turtle talking to me?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, but he's a real ass."

"Look who's talking, master?" was the flying turtle's flat reply.

"Master? Why'd he call you that?" Ukyo asked, seemingly calming down.

Ranma shrugged. "Oh you know how it goes; rescue one talking turtle and you get another talking turtle as a reward."

Ukyo nodded. She was starting to come to terms with the basics of the situation, but frankly there was a lot that she didn't know. Plus talking turtles were just strange. "So…you've been here before?"

"Yeah, Pop threw me in the spring a while back," Ranma said, not particularly bitter sounding about it. "I had to spend about month here. I only just found a way home a week or so ago."

Ukyo nodded. She had a bit of a temper, but she did indeed have a good head on her shoulders. "So…your father threw you into the Gate-Way Spring which brought you to this world but after a few weeks you found a way back."

"Yep."

"Meanwhile I track your dad to China, who had water from that spring on him, and just as you get back he uses it on me."

"Yep."

"So since I got sent back to this world you followed me so I wouldn't be trapped here?"

Ranma smiled brightly. "Hey, you got it!"

Ukyo though about this. It seems that, if what Ranma was saying was true, then Genma had basically screwed both of them in almost the same way. What's interesting was that the pig tail boy, who just revealed that it took him weeks to get back to their Earth, immediately went back to that place just for her sake. It was almost as if all her animosity towards her old friend washed away at this; after all, technically she had no reason to hate Ranma. It was his father, not him, that made and broke the agreement between their families. Obviously the older Saotome was cruel and possibly evil (In her eyes, at least), but the younger one was brave and seemingly very noble…and handsome now that she thought about it. Very handsome.

At this the chef blushed. Ranma raised an eyebrow at this. "You alright there, Ucchan? You're all red in the face."

Ukyo tried to laugh it off, but hearing Ranma call her the childhood nickname she blushed even more. "I'm fine, I'm just happy you came. I've misjudged you, Ranchan. I'm sorry."

Ranma smiled. "No problem. But we gottta get going. We need to the Dragon Balls so we can wish you home"

Ukyo gave him a curious look. "Dragon Balls?"

Ranma nodded, a bit more serious in attitude. "Yeah. Seven magic balls that can summon the Dragon God. Once summoned he grants any wish."

The chef laughed at that. "Seriously? I mean, that sounds more like a dumb shonen manga than anything else."

Ranma nodded knowingly "No kidding. But it's real alright, and they were hard to find too. I made some friends last time I was here and we were able to do it together; they used their wish to send me home. The problem is I don't know what happened to 'em after I left. So we need to find them so they can point us in the right direction."

Ukyo nodded. It makes sense in a fantastic mystical video game sort of way. "Okay, so where are we going?"

Ranma thought about this for a second. "Well, I was hoping my buddy Goku would be here since this is his house, but it looks like he's long gone. I guess we'll try Yamcha." He looked particularly annoyed at having you say that.

Ukyo shrugged. "Another buddy?"

Ranma shook his head. "Not really, but he'll talk to me." The pig tailed boy cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

Meanwhile…

Ryoga looked around to the dangerous unfamiliar setting. Wasn't he supposed to be in the mountains? Why then was he facing the ocean? As soon as he fell into the lake that after transporting to this world he thought he followed his every step from the last time exactly. Somehow…somehow Ranma must have tricked him to going the wrong way. Now he's lost on this world with no obvious means to return home OR finally settle the score with his rival. Again.

It was very depressing and also somehow Ranma's fault. Again.

Ranma didn't know exactly where Yamcha lived but he knew where it probably had to be: somewhere in the desert where he originally met the bandit. Using Baby Gamera the teen martial artist was given a bird's eye view of the area and he hoped that finding the possibly hidden lair would be easier hen searching on foot. Ukyo, perched behind Ranma on top of the flying turtle, found herself incredibly impressed with the ride. She had never experienced a ride like this before and was enjoying herself quite bit.

"This is great!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Ranma replied still intently looking around.

"Did you use Gamera to get around a lot when you were trapped here before?" the chef asked.

Ranma shook his head. "Mostly drove. Sometimes we took a boat."

The rocket turtle snarled a bit at that. "My talents were wasted on the ignorance of youth."

After a short while the pig tailed boy finally spotted a potential living space: a large desert rock.

"Why that rock?" Ukyo asked.

"I just have a feeling. Like a sixth sense or something," Ranma replied, not mentioning that he actually simply noticed that the rock had a window hoping he'd sound cooler in the process. The pig tailed martial artist commanded Baby Gamera to close in on the mysterious mass form, lowering itself enough for both other worldly travelers to leap safely off a sit returned to wherever flying turtles go when not in use.

Ukyo waved the turtle off as he fly away. "Goodbye Gamera," she called. Once he was gone the young chef turned to Ranma. "Is it weird that his name is-"

"The same as that movie monster? I said the same thing when I met him the first time. Let's go."

The two travelers ventured forth toward the structure. A door a located easily enough. Abruptly Ranma stopped moving. "Hey Ucchan, I forgot to mention it before but if you see a floating, um, cat thing you'll want to keep it as far away from me as possible."

Ukyo raised an eyebrow at that. "What? Why?"

"No reason," Ranma replied, obviously lying.

Further into the lair they found…well they found nothing. No furniture, no treasure, no nothing. Unless Yamcha doubled as a monk and actually didn't believe in worldly possessions there was little reason to believe he and Pu'ar actually lived here.

"But check it out," Ukyo noticed. "There's not really any dust in here."

"Uh huh," Ranma replied, possibly not actually following the logic.

Ukyo rolled her eyes at this. Ranma was still pretty thick headed despite it being ten years later. "This a big hallowed out rock in the desert with a door and windows. Someone used to live but they must have just left. There should be dust all over the place but there isn't."

The Saotome Heir groaned. "Damn it, first Goku now Yamcha. What happened to everybody?" Ranma thought about the situation for a second. "Well I guess we can try Fry Pan Mountain….well, where it used to be anyway. Maybe that Chi-Chi girl is around there."

"It's a pretty big world, Ranchan," Ukyo interjected. "It might be a bit of a stretch to think we can find a few people just by looking real hard." She paused as she thought about what she said. "Maybe we should try-"

She never finished her sentence; acting on instinct Ranma pushed his old friend aside a mere seconds before a razor sharp boomerang would have cut it clean off. The two other worldly fighters look towards the entrance of the fortress to see the culprit. There were three men standing there. One was a large overweight man and judging by his assortment of boomerangs on his person the source of the attack. To his right was a man wearing what could only be described as "ninja attire" including a mask covering most of his face. Front and center however was a relatively young man, around Ranma's age and build, sporting a disfiguring scar along his left eye.

"Well well well," the younger guy said, all smiled. "Looks like Yamcha has some gentlemen callers while he's away. He'll be so disappointed."

Ranma offered his hand to help Ukyo back to her feet while managing to not taking his eyes off the new arrivals. "Hey what gives, Scarface? Your mom forget to tell you not to talk to strangers?" Ranma's voice, of course, betrayed no fear.

"You boys must be lost," the man continued. "Otherwise you wouldn't be trying to see Yamcha of the Desert. You friends of his?"

Ranma smirked. "If by friend you mean 'guy who used him as a punching bag' then yeah, we're really good pals."

The man's grin grew larger. "Ha! A punk like you? Beat Yamcha! Not in a million years. Even I, Cactus the Desert Tiger, could never defeat Yamcha. He gave me this as a reminder." He touched his scar for emphasis.

Ukyo raised an eyebrow. "You're actual name…isn't really Cactus is it?"

Cactus gave a surprised look. "Huh? What do you mean? Cactus is a perfectly respectable name."

Ranma shrugged. "Sure it is, ugly. Don't worry though; at least your name ain't 'shampoo'. So you guys looking for a fight or what?"

"We saw you come in here from our hideout" the boy/bandit continued. "We figured you might know what happened to Yamcha...or at the very least have something valuable for us take. How about it then? You want to live or die?"

The pi tailed boy sighed. "They never figure it out until it's too late. Oh well, I guess a little exercise never hurt anyone. You know…expect for you morons."

With that Ranma charged right at the leader, delivering a fierce punch. The lager boomerang throwing man attempted to grab the youth but the speedy pig tailed boy easily danced around the king sized opponent. The overweight fighter completely didn't see Ranma's foot until after it connected to his face.

The ninja looking man backed up upon seeing this. "It seems the situation calls for a little ninja finesse. Prepare to face the shadowy fury of-"

WHACK!

The graceful yet powerful swing of Ukyo's battle spatula put an end to the ninja's spotlight, leaving him a bloody mess on the floor. "Sorry honey, but you talk too much."

Cactus quickly recovered only to see his gang defeated in a manner of seconds. "Damn, you aren't any ordinary punks, are you? I guess I'll have to get serious then?"

"You can be as serious as you want to be, jerk," Ranma declared in response. "But I don't got time to dance, you I'll just end it here." He quickly took the stance he learned from watching the turtle hermit several weeks prior. "Ka…Me…Ha...Me…HA!"

Blue chi formed in his hands as he gathered power before unleashing the turtle destruction wave on the unsuspecting Cactus. Needless to say the force of the attack quickly took the bandit out, sending him crashing through the cave wall. Ukyo looked on in shock; she had never seen that sort of attack before. "What in the world was that?" she asked.

"Kamehameha," Ranma said proudly. "I just learned it! Once I master it it'll big enough to blow up mountain." Silently Ukyo thanked God that she realized that she and the boy weren't enemies. Otherwise she may have been the one to taste that attack. "Well that was pretty fun," Ranma declared. "But I guess we need to move on."

Fry Pan Mountain, once a fiery spectacle that acted more a warning of danger than anything else, now was simply ruble. With both Son Goku and Yamcha not in their receptive homes and Bulma's whereabouts unknown Rama was forced to return to this place. This was a severe mixed bag: on one hand Chi-Chi, the only other person who was witnessed Shenlong's appearance lived in this area, but on the other hand so did Gyu-Mao. Sure, the large man was friendly enough when he hasn't trying to kill you, but it bothered the pig tailed youth to no end that he was completely outclassed as a fighter during the brief brawl between the two.

However Ranma, upon arrival, learned a new reason to dislike coming to this place today: the Ox-King liked to hug.

"It's good to see ya, my boy," Gyu-Mao declared as he lifted the teenage fighter off the ground in an extremely crushing yet affectionate embrace.

"I think I'm dying," Ranma managed to say as the life slowly left his body.

Ukyo couldn't help but smile seeing this display. Ranma certainly knew how to make friends. "So you guys are pretty close, huh?"

The Ox-King happily let Ranma go in order to tell the tale of the boy's good deed. "Are you kidding? Even though I tried to squash him like a bug he still brought my master the Muten Roshi here to put out the fire that kept me from my castle."

"Where is your castle?" Ukyo asked. "I don't see one around here."

Gyo-Mao smiled brightly. "My master accidently destroyed it with the rest of the mountain." His grin was large and blank and Ukyo suspected there wasn't much intelligence behind it. She simply smiled and nodded response. "Plus" the large man added. "He helped my darling daughter find a fine fiancé in Son Goku. Now the Turtle School of Martial Arts will be untied at last!"

An uncontrolled chill ran up Ranma's spine at hearing that phrase as usual, though this time he had good indication as to why. "No problem, big guy. Speaking of your daughter we're actually looking for her. She around?"

"Of course not. Wasn't it your idea for her to spend time with Goku so they can get to know each other?" was Gyu-Mao's response. "She's off with him, I imagine."

Ranma pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration upon hearing that. "Great, just great. We don't know where Goku, so we don't know where she is either. I can't believe this…"

The Ox-King laughed at this, slapping Ranma's back in a friendly manner (Although it nearly broke the boy's back). "Don't fret, my boy. Just the other day I got a letter from Chi-Chi! She told me she and Goku were going to see my old master. I bet the little monkey's gonna get the old training treatment. Ah, that takes me back. Back when me and Son Gohan received the training we used to-"

Ranma snapped his fingers, interrupting the Ox-King's reminiscing. "Hey that's right! The old freak said Goku could come and live with him after the Dragon Ball hunt. Hey! He said I could too! Awesome!" He did a little dance in celebration.

Ukyo raised an eyebrow. "Old freak? Didn't you guys say he was an invincible old master who destroyed a mountain?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, but he's a pervert. A big one. But the geezer knows his stuff. I'll get some of that training and be even stronger than you, Ox-Man!" Ranma laughed maniacally at that thought.

Gyu-Mao soon joined in the loud laughing. "Yup, you sure will! Gwahahaha!"

Ranma only snapped out of his delight when Ukyo hit him with a spatula. "That hurt," was his response.

"Sorry Ranchan, you were hysterical," she explained. She turned to the lager man. "So about your old master…"

"Ah yes," the Ox-King said. "Normally the master lives on his secluded tiny island, but if he's training Goku he would take him to a larger island south of his house. Baby Gamera will know the way."

Ranma sighed. "You know, if I had just remembered what the old pervert had said we could have gone straight there instead doing on this running around."

Ukyo giggled at her would-be fiancé. "Don't be sad, Ranchan. It was a pretty fun adventure."

Thanking the older man for his time the two youths called forth Baby Gamera and continued their quest.

Ranma was surprised to see the Kame House on the southern island the Ox-King had described but it was certainly proof that the Turtle Hermit was here. "Take us down, turtle," Ranma instructed. Soon the two teenagers found themselves right in front of the pink home of the world's foremost martial arts master.

"You know," Ranma said softly. "I honestly believed I'd never be able to see this place again."

"Are you…glad?" Ukyo cautiously asked.

The boy nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I am. It's good to be back here." Ukyo smiled at that. Ranma continued. "We'll find out where the Dragon Balls are from Goku, then we'll go ahead and summon the Dragon God and send you back home."

Ukyo raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You mean we go home, don't you Ranchan?"

Before he could answer the pug tailed boy heard distinct and familiar grumbling coming from inside the house. Sure enough the Turtle Hermit opened the door, looking as if he had just woken up. "What's all the noise? Don't you know that some of us are getting over food poisoning?" Shaking the cobwebs out of his head the old man finally realized who he was looking at. "Ranma?"

"Yo," was the boy's casual response.

The old man smiled. "Well I'll be. Heard you went away for good, lad."

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah well, it turns out my old man's a rotten bastard. Go figure."

The aged martial artist chuckled at that. "Still as disrespectful of your elders as ever, I see. As usual I expect it's not me you seek but rather something in my possession." The old man turned toward his home. "Goku, get out here! There's someone here to see you!"

Tiny footsteps could be heard from inside just before the familiar spiky haired boy came rushing outside. "What's up old time- Hey! Big Brother!" Without missing a beat Son Goku leapt at his friend with full force knocking Ranma over, giving him his second potentially dangerous hug of the day. "I thought we wished you away!"

"Get off, you monkey tailed moron!" Ranma demanded. Goku complied with the request, all smiles and practically jumping up and down. Looking the boy over the pig tailed boy suddenly realized how much he missed the kid. Suddenly it felt like everything was back to normal.

Thusly, Ranma and Son Goku were reunited.

To be continued…

**Preview of next chapter:**

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. After all that nonsense it turns out we can't even use the Dragon Balls yet. What a jip!

Goku: But we get to train with the turtle guy, though!

Ranma: Well yeah, but that old freak must be out of his mind with crazy training like this! Plowing? Milk delivery? Shark infested waters? Is he _trying_ to kill us? Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Terrible Turtle Training! The Road to the World Tournament Begins!"

Goku: Tenka'ichi Budōkai? What's that taste like?

**Author's note:**

Somewhere on the internet I saw this story with rating of something like "2.5555555 out of 10". Badly needed re-writes of chapters one through seven aside I think I deserve at least a "4 out of 10." [Update: I've re-written those chapters and now I think it should be raised it to "6 out of 10"] Anyway I had been sitting on the first half of this chapter for the last few months and decided to man-up and plow through it. It may be a weak chapter, as the next chapter may also be a little weak (If and when it comes out,) but I'm banking on Chapter 11 being the turning point of the fic when I start writing the "story proper" (The first ten chapters are probably best viewed as a set up of the world).

Anywho I feel Ukyo is pretty much in-character here. I can see her forgiving Ranma that easily when Genma isn't there to say Ranma picked okonomiyaki over her. Plus her inclusion in the story is mainly to inject some badly needed "Ranma ½" presence in a largely Dagon Ball story. The affects of her being in this world will soon become apparent.

Thanks for all the kind words over the last few months.


	10. Terrible Turtle Training!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (Or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me; if I actually had money to take in court I'd be too distracted to write fanfiction in the first place, right? Right?

**The Story Thus Far:** Saotome Ranma, after a mishap involving the Gate-Way Spring, found himself trapped in the World of Dragon Balls. After meeting and befriending Son Goku and teen genius Bulma he managed to uncover all seven spheres and wished himself home. However the young man has now abandoned his old life on his home world, choosing exile after his father Genma banished the boy's oldest friend Kuonji Ukyo to the fate he himself just escaped. Vowing to never return home Ranma again steps into "Dragon World" in the hopes of sending his friend back with a wish from the Eternal Dragon…and hopefully cut all ties to his own past once and for all!

**Last Chapter: **After catching up with Ukyo Ranma set out to rediscover his friends in order to start a new journey for control of the Dragon Balls. However he and his old friend were fraught with setbacks and misdirection until they finally managed to track down Goku and the Turtle Hermit on a not so familiar island…

**Chapter 10**

**Terrible Turtle Training!**

**The Road to the World Tournament Begins!**

Finally after what seemed like an eternity of waiting Ranma was again face to face with his companion Goku. Standing outside the Turtle House' current location the two close friends basked in the afterglow of being reunited, leaving both Ukyo and Kame-Sen'nin feeling bit awkward.

"Big Brother," Goku exclaimed. "You came back just like you said you would!"

Ranma smiled brightly. "I told you I would. I keep my promises, you little monkey!"

The spiky haired boy leapt up for joy. "It's gonna be just like it was before! Training, fighting bad guys, getting into adventures! Me and you Big Brother!

Ranma nodded his head with determination. "Hell yeah! There ain't a thing we can't beat together! Especially since I learned the Kamehameha."

"You learned the Kamehameh too!"

"Of course I did. It was easy."

"Oh man, we gotta spar! Right now!"

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a shrimp!"

"That's the way I like it!"

"Ahem" Ukyo said, interrupting the bro bonding.

Ranma shrugged. "Oh yeah. This is Ukyo, my friend from my world. Ukyo, that little shorty is Son Goku."

"Hiya," exclaimed Goku.

"Hello," Ukyo replied with a smile.

Ranma continued, pointing at the Turtle Hermit this time. "And that old, shriveled, bald, perverted freak over there is the turtle guy."

Whack!

The pig tailed martial artist found himself nursing his head. Apparently Kame-sen'nin objected to the vulgarity of Ranma's words…with his cane. "A geez, alight! I mean the 'Muten Roshi.' Did ya have to hit me so hard, ya old fart!"

Whack!

The Turtle Hermit grimaced at the lack of respect. "You've got a lot learn, youngster."

Ukyo bowed politely, possibly because she didn't want to be hit with any stick. This old man was feisty. "It's nice to meet you, sir."

The Muten Roshi nodded in return. "And it's nice to meet someone with a little respect to give. You hear that boys? Maybe you should be more like Ukyo here." Turning over to the boys in question he was dismayed that their backs were turned and they were talking amongst themselves, ignoring him completely.

"So then," Goku said to his friend, not noticing the old man's glare. "I was the only one who didn't eat any of the fish, so I was the only one who didn't get poisoned! Can you believe it?"

"Haha, serves 'em right!" Ranma declared, he too missing the hermit's silent rage.

Whack! Whack!

"Ow," Goku muttered as both he and Ranma felt the effects of the "Cane of Punishment."

"Anyway," Ranma said, his head still throbbing. "The reason we came by was to ask you about the Dragon Balls. We need to ask the Dragon to send Ukyo back home."

Goku smiled brightly. "Okay, sounds good. Oh! Except they turned into rocks." For some reason his smile didn't fade.

"They...did...WHAT?" Ranma's expression was a unique mixture of frustration, rage, and overall sadness. Like most instances of other people's grief it was amusing.

"They turned to rocks and then flew away in a bunch of direction right after we made the wish," Goku explained. "Bulma said they won't turn back for a whole year."

Ukyo too found herself suddenly upset. "A year! So we're trapped here for a year?"

At this point the commotion outside had finally brought the attention of the rest of the Turtle Hermit's houseguests. One of the three people who exited the house to see what was going on Ranma recognized; it was Chi-Chi the Ox-King's daughter though she was dressed with rather loose fitting clothing, a far cry from her inappropriate bikini, and no longer sporting the deadly helmet she used to wear. The other two, one being a tall and pretty blue haired girl and a short (Really short) bald kid dressed like a monk.

"Venerable Master, what's going on out here?" the bald kid asked.

"Yes, we heard some yelling," blue haired-girl added.

Chi-Chi smiled as she recognized her one-time traveling companion. "Hey, you're Ramen-san."

"That's 'Ranma'," the pig tailed boy corrected, his voice dripping with annoyance.

Kame-Sen'nin inwardly giggled at that but managed to keep his composure. "Ranma, this is Kuririn , who'll be training under along Goku, and Lunch…er, a new friend."

"Hey, Big Brother can join in the training too, right old timer?" Goku asked excited.

"Hey yeah, old man, you gave me the same invitation as Goku after you took out Fry-Pan Mountain!" Ranma declared.

This time the Turtle Hermit did laugh out loud. "Ohoho, so even though you've done nothing but insult me since you arrived you expect me to suddenly train you, hm? Well unfortunately I have both Kuririn and Goku here and it's a lot of trouble for an old man like myself to train three students. I guess you came here for nothing; have a nice swim back."

Ranma narrowed his eyes at the aged fighter. "Now hold on a second, old freak, you promised!"

Kuririn picked this opportunity to step between the two, though even as he tried to have a stare down with Ranma the older boy simply towered over him. "I can't allow some walk-in off the streets troubling my gracious, yet humble venerable master. If you know what's good for you'll leave before he gets angry. As his chief disciple you wouldn't want me as an enemy either." The boy stood with a false confidence that Ranma could spot a mile away.

"One side, cue ball, this is between me and the old perv," Ranma explained, not even bothering to look at the younger boy in the face, which of course made Kuririn even more angry. "Listen old man, you promised me some training so I ain't leaving till I get some training."

Kame-Sen'nin sighed at that. The little snot was being very persistent; annoyingly so, actually. Still the old master did recall telling Ranma he could receive the training, even if he only half heartedly meant it at the time, and going back on ones' word was not the Turtle Master Way. Plus just by the way the boy moved he could tell he was skilled, probably more so than Kuririn and certainly possessed far more common sense than the thick headed Goku. Truth be told the pig tailed lad would probably make a fine disciple.

"Though," the turtle master thought to himself. "A young man full of eagerness to learn, trying to force himself into the Turtle School when there were already two students waiting to study? This is all too familiar." He shrugged. That was a long time ago, and there was no indication that history could or would repeat itself. Hopefully.

"Very well, Ranma," the Turtle Hermit declared. "I hereby accept you into the Turtle School."

"Ha! Watch out Ox-King! I'll be twice as strong as you in half the time!" Ranma declared.

The old man frowned at that. "I see we'll have to work on your humility."

Ukyo frowned at her old friend during this entire exchanged. "Ranchan, can I talk to you a moment?"

Ranma sort of just shrugged her off. "Can't it wait, Ucchan? I want to get the training goi-owowow," he said as the okonomiyaki chef grabbed his ear and pulled him to the outside of the Kame House. "What's the big idea?"

"Is it really okay for us to be here like this?" Ukyo asked, her expression a bit more on the worried side now. "I mean, are we just going to live here for a year then?"

Ranma shrugged. 'It ain't like we have anything better to do. Look, as far as I know the only way to get back to the other world is with the Dragon Balls. But since we can't use them at least here we have a place to stay and I can finally get the same training that made Gyu-Mao so damn strong. It won't be so bad. At least we've got each other this time round."

Ukyo blushed at that, probably misinterpreting Ranma's words. She nodded in agreement.

"Alright then," Ranma said, looking determined. "This will be fun, I promise."

At that moment the girl called Lunch arrived round back to where the two teens were hiding out. She pleasantly smiled at the new arrivals. "Hello," she said warmly.

"Uh, hey," was Ranma's reply.

"I was wondering if you two would be staying for dinner," Lunch asked, not noticing a strain of hair crossing her nose. "I was thinking of making…making…ah…ah…achoo!"

Ukyo, being a pretty polite girl, would have said "bless you" at the sneeze but she was so struck by the fact that Lunch suddenly had blonde hair rather than blue she failed to remember her manners. "Um…well that's something you don't see every day. Or maybe _you_ do, Ranchan."

"Nope, it's new to me," was he young fighter's reply.

Lunch took look around. She was certainly still at the pink turtle house, which was annoying but necessary for now. But she did not recognize the two teenagers standing in front of her. "You guys cops?" she asked suspiciously.

"Um…no," was Ranma's reply.

Lunch smirked evilly at that. "Good." Out of nowhere she suddenly armed herself with a machine gun and readily pointed it at the two strangers. "Hand over all your zennie and maybe I won't pump you full of lead!"

The pig tailed boy blinked. "Where were you hiding that thing? What is with girls on this world? Do you all just carry guns all the time?"

"A wise guy, huh?" Lunch's smirk turned to a disturbing frown. "I HATE wise guys!" With that she opened fire on the two martial artists. Soon Ranma and Ukyo found themselves running for their lives.

"Ranchan, you better hope she kills me, because if not I'm going to hit you with my spatula," Ukyo informed her friend as they darted across the island away from the gun wielding psycho. "Repeatedly!"

"Noted," was Ranma's reply.

From the front of the house Kame-Sen'nin smirked. "As expected Ranma is no slouch when it comes to light jogging. Ukyo's not bad ether."

Goku smiled brightly as the scene reminded him of his and Ranma's previous adventure. How many times did Bulma end up chasing Ranma this way? "Ahh, takes me back."

Kuririn, for his part, just glared at the older boy. He worked hard for his position as student of the Muten Roshi and he was not keen on sharing it with some cocky upstart.

The rest of the evening was more or less uneventful, save for Kame-Sen'nin walking in on Ukyo in the bath and being attacked by a huge spatula (Which led to an interesting conversation between the old man and Ranma where the former grumbled about not being appraised of the chef's true gender while at the same time appearing extremely grateful that another attractive and well proportioned girl was now living with him). Due to a few unforeseen setbacks (Poisoned fish among them) the training would only just get started the next day. Therefore early bedtimes were in order. The upstairs became the designated "Girls' Floor" while Ranma, his future training mates, and their sensei were left downstairs (Much to the old man's chagrin).

Late the night, while the rest of the house was sleeping, Ranma found himself alone with Goku.

"So," the older boy started, somewhat bluntly. "What the hell happened to your tail?" Goku's signature monkey tail was indeed gone.

"I have no idea," Goku said cheerfully.

"You have no idea?" Ranma asked, giving his friend an odd look. "Well, I guess that sounds about right for you." The pig tailed boy said nothing for a few minutes before finally asking "What happened to Bulma?"

Goku thought about it for second. "I guess she went home. Some city in the west, I think. Actually I don't remember much about that night. I think I fell asleep."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at that. "Fell asleep? You're such a weird little monkey."

"Hey thanks!" the younger by replied, missing the insult completely.

* * *

The next morning came suddenly; it would be the first step in Ranma's new life on this world. At the end of the day that is what this training represented. This was him rejecting his old existence and accepting this new, albeit strange, one. Despite it only being 4:30 in the morning Ranma, Goku and Kuririn found themselves wandering outside to begin their first day. As they waited for their new master to join them Ranma couldn't help but notice the bald monk giving him the evil eye.

"Ya got a problem, cue ball?" he asked.

Kuririn frowned. "I just find it a bit off putting that you were accepted by the venerable master so readily."

"He just knows talent when he sees it," Ranma explained, smirking at the boy.

"Hmph," the monk growled. "You don't seem so special to me. Just a cocky jerk."

"And you look like a shrimp," was the easy going response. "So let's call it even."

"Alright, knock it off," the elderly voice of Kame-Sen'nin called out as he made his way from out of the house. Dressed for business the old man came actually look somewhat respectable. The two students frowned at each other, but complied with their master's command. Goku didn't notice any of this.

"Today you begin your training in the Kame-Sen School of Martial Arts," the turtle master said. "Let me say a few words about martial arts in general."

"Oh here we go," Ranma said, rolling his eyes. He was promptly punished with a cane strike to the head to Kuririn's delight.

"Anyway," the hermit continued. "One should not train in martial arts for the superficial reasons, such as making girls like you." Strangely Kuririn looked down at his shoes upon hearing that. "Instead one should train in order to achieve both mental and physical clarity and live their lives courageously. But remember this: if you encounter those who seek to terrorize and control the innocent they must be struck down with a mighty blow. For the first and foremost duty of a martial artist is to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"Well duh," was Ranma's reply. Again he was struck by a cane. Probably the most amazing thing was that the boy seemed to truly not understand why his new sensei kept hitting him.

Kame-Sen'nin could feel his eye twitching, but tried not to show it. "So do you boys understand what I'm telling you?"

"Nope, not at all," Goku admitted with a confused look.

"Just train hard and live a good life, kid."

"Okay! Sounds good to me!"

Kuririn looked over at his training mates with disgust. One of his peers in a moron, the other is an insufferable jerk. This was going to be the most annoying year ever.

The Turtle Hermit began jogging towards town. "Let's begin our early morning training with some light jogging. Keep up boys."

"Jogging? Seriously?" Ranma exclaimed as he managed to easily stay with his master on their route.

Kame-Sen'nin made no direct response. "Come lads. One-Two-Three-Four! Two-Two-Three-Four!"

This portion of the training proved no problem for any of the boy. Eventually the four martial artists arrived at their first stop: a cottage with the word "Milk" written on it. Though the boys weren't sure what was happening they surely noticed the crates filled with bottles of milk being handled by the bull standing up straight and wearing pants (Though only Ranma thought anything strange of the guy).

"Halt!" the aged martial arts master declared as he stopped I front of the "bull-man". "Good morning, sir. I'm the one who called yesterday about my students."

"Ah yes," the bull said, clearly delighted. "This will be a big help. Thank you."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Old freak, are we delivering milk?"

The turtle hermit smirked in a way that made Ranma extremely uncomfortable. "That's right, my boy. All of you grab a crate."

All three boys looked at their master in confusion, but did as they were told.

"Come boys," the old man said as he stated skipping along the road. "Skip-Two-Three-Four! Skip-Two-Three-Four!"

Ranma leaned over towards Goku as they went off the aged hermit. "I think the old man's got a screw loose," he whispered.

"Maybe," the spiky haired boy replied. Even Kuririn nodded in agreement.

As the morning went they group delivered milk to various homes on the island and taking the empties where they were. At first it wasn't so bad but the long distance started to set in as one by one the three students began losing steam. By the time they reached the island's resident temple (separated from the rest of the town by an extremely large amount of stairs) they were all feeling worse firm ware.

Except for the turtle hermit, of course. By the time Ranma made it up the stairs the old master was waiting of him, calmly seated on a rock and smoking his pipe. "What took you so long, lad?"

Ranma took the opportunity to sit down, still clutching the carton of milk he carried. Fatigue was showing. "Fine fine. Rub it in, old freak. Let me just catch my breath."

The Turtle Hermit chuckled. "I have to say I'm impressed you made it up the steps before Goku. It would seem you are the best trained of the three of you."

Ranma rolled his eyes at that. "Yeah, no kidding. I've been training since I was baby, geezer. I got at least five years of experience on those shrimps." The pig tailed boy gave his new teacher a hard look. "So when does the real hard stuff start?"

The Turtle Hermit gave his student a confused look. "Hard stuff?"

"Yeah" Ranma said. "I mean, my old man made me do all sorts of stupid and crazy stuff and called it training, so I'm pretty used to this sort of crap. But come on, even if we deliver milk all over this island there's no way Gyu-Mao got so tough just by that. So you must have something even worse than this waiting for us."

The old man smirked. "You're sharper than you look, Ranma." He gave a rather large puff of smoke out from his pipe. "But we'll get to that in due time."

Soon Goku and then finally Kurirrn joined the other two and they made their way to the Temple doors. They were greeted by a friendly looking monk.

"Ah Master Muten, it's great to see you once more," the monk said shaking the hand of the aged martial artist. "And who might these young people be?"

"Hiya" Goku happily replied. He was soon struck by a can on top his head.

"That's 'Good Morning, sir'," the Turtle Hermit corrected.

"Oh I see, these must be new students," the monk realized. "It's been some time since you had students, though I'm surprised that you're training three rather than two."

The old man smirked as e put his hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Oh I've made a special exception for this young man."

"Because I'm so talented" Ranma explained, proudly.

"Because he wouldn't shut up" the turtle master corrected the teenager, much to his chagrin. "But I have to say all three of them possess great potential. Enough so that I may enter them into the next Tenka'ichi Budōkai."

Kuririn's eyes lit up at that. "WHAT? NO WAY!"

Goku looked blankly as his bald companion. "The Ten Bu Whaty?"

The young monk smirked at Ranma. "Man, he doesn't even know what the Tenka'ichi Budōkai is. What a moron, right Ranma?"

The pig tailed teenager just shrugged. "I don't know what it is either."

The nose-less monk sighed at the sheer stupidity of his training mates. "You guys must have been living under rocks. The 'Strongest Under the Heavens' tournament is the premier world martial arts competition on Earth. The best fighters in the world take part in it."

Ranma perked up upon hearing that. "Really?"

The Turtle Hermit could sense Ranma's eagerness. "Yes, it's all very exciting but I'll only enter you three if I truly feel you're ready."

"When is this tournament thing?" Goku asked slightly confused by all this.

"Oh it's still many months away," the old man explained. "No need to worry about it now. Simply concentrate on the training."

With that the group delivered the milk to the monk and bid him farewell, moving on to their next destination. The milk run did not get any easier form there as the route involved treading across dangerous rushing water, mountain paths, and even forest heavily populated by man-eating (And apparently very hungry) dinosaurs. While Ranma, Goku and Kuririn were surly skilled enough to make it the run without any real problems they were completely exhausted by the time they finished.

"Well that's it of the early morning exercise let's move on to the morning exercises" Kame-Sen'nin told his young students.

Just as Ranma predicted the training did indeed get harder. Throughout the day the three martial artists were forced to engage in various exhausting activities that involved plowing fields with their hands, construction work, swimming shark infested waters, and even dodging angry bees. It was all physical torment however as they were allowed some breaks; lunch time, nap time and also a special "Learning Session" where the Turtle Hermit attempted to "sharpen their minds" (Though this may have been more for Goku than the other two).

At some point Goku and Kuririn got into an argument with their sensei about "learning moves" and made some weird deal about moving rocks; honestly Ranma was spacing out during the conversation. The fact was that the pig tailed boy, while unhappy about the brutal nature of the odd exercises, was more accepting of it then his partners. Genma had instilled in him an odd appreciation for off-the-wall training that would have positive effects on his overall skill. He himself often turned mundane activities into training for himself (Such as balancing on top of fences on the way to school). Of course none of his training was nearly as intense or dangerous as this (With the obvious exception of the Cat Fist training) but even so he figured that this was pretty much all of the training they were going to get.

He was wrong. They would be doing all of that everyday but while wearing extremely heavy turtle shells. For the better part of a year.

The first day ended well enough except that Ranma's body decided to stop working right outside Kame House so now he was spending his evening flat on his back on the front lawn, hoping that Lunch wouldn't rob and murder him in his weakened condition. Luckily it was Ukyo who found him first.

"Ranchan? You look like hell" the young chef stated.

"Then I look better than I feel," was Ranma's weak and barely audible reply.

The teenage girl sat down on the grass next to her old friend, giving him a nice smile. "Well I guess the training's going well. I didn't train but I had an interesting day as myself." Ranma's weak moaning was all the reply she got, so she continued. "So it turns out that Lunch and that little girl Chi-Chi had never had okonomiyaki. In fact they'd never even heard of it. So when I went to town to get some supplies to make some for lunch I find out that no one on this whole island had ever heard of it either."

Ranma thought about this from his grounded position. Now that he thought about it he'd never come across any okonomiyaki during his travels. "Maybe it doesn't exist on this world," he said, with barely any emotion in his voice.

Ukyo grinned evilly. "Well I guess then that means I can corner the market."

If Ranma was less tired he may have been unnerved by that. As it was he simply wanted to go to sleep…for a few years.

* * *

Seven months pass. During this time Ranma, Goku and Kuririn begin to get a better hold of the monstrous training. Despite their differences a certain amount of camaraderie is formed between them, probably out of desperation to survive the harsh tutelage of the Turtle Hermit. Meanwhile Ukyo kept busy during all of this. She, with the help of Chi-Chi and to a lesser extent Lunch (Who, let's be honest here, can't really be trusted) opened an outdoor okonomiyaki restaurant in front of Kame House called "Ucchan's". It wasn't much but it was doing well; the people of the island were so intrigued by this new kind of food that they were packed with guests every day for lunch and dinner.

All in all things were going well…so of course something unpleasant had to happen. And so it did.

This day in particular was actually for slower than it usually was at this time of day at "Ucchan's". Ukyo fund herself very very bored behind the grill. She wondered how Ranma was doing today and thought about going to visit him but she was unsure exactly where he would be at this time of day. Depending on where he was a distraction from her could very well kill him!

Her thoughts were interrupted by the words of her new apprentice. "Ukyo-san," she head Chi-Chi say. She turned her attention to Goku's future wife (Something that amused her as she was informed that Ranma had accidently gotten them engaged. The irony was hilarious). "Ukyo-san it's noon. I'm going to head to the construction site and bring the workers their daily lunch. I should be back soon."

Ukyo starched out he arms. "That's okay, honey. I think I'll go ahead and do it myself. I could use some excitement."

Almost immediately before she could get the words out the two girls found themselves being interrupted by the screaming of their housemate Lunch. It was coming form down the road. Quickly the two raced over from the origin of the sound. Sure enough they found the girl (In her blue haired persona) standing over what appeared to be a passed out teenage boy.

"What the hell happened, Lunch?" Ukyo asked. "Did you mug someone again?"

"No, it wasn't me" Lunch claimed looking rather embarrassed by the fact that she's the first suspect in such a situation. "I was just going grocery shopping and then I found this boy on the road. I think he may be half starved. I needed help moving him."

Chi-Chi looked carefully at the passed out youth on the ground before napping her fingers. "Wait! I know this guy! This is that guy who was with Yamcha. What was his name? Ryogi or something… ?"

Ukyo thought about this for a bit. "Friend of Yamcha? That bandit guy who Ranma knows?"

Chi-Chi nodded. "Yes, Ranma-san knows this person too. He was with him when Goku-san wished Ranma-san back home."

The okonomiyaki chef nodded at that. She vaguely remembered something about some guy coming with Ranma to rescue her. "Let's get him back to the house."

And so Hibiki Ryoga, who at that very moment was dreaming of crushing Saotome Ranma's skull as he often did, was dragged to the home of the very man he swore to kill.

To be continued…

Preview of next chapter:

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. So Ryoga found me after all this time, huh? Still haven't let that Bread Feud thing go? Fine, we'll settle this once and for all at the Tenka'ichi Budōkai!

Ryoga: Fine by me! You'll have nowhere to run this time!

Bulma: Easy on the testosterone, boys. Luckily I'm back to make sure the story doesn't get too dull.

Ranma: Oh great. Bulma's back. Just what we needed; an annoying self-centered brat.

Bulma: Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Beautiful Bulma Strikes Back!"

Ranma: Wrong! The next chapter is called "Tournament of Dreams Part One: Team Ranma Reunited!"

Yamcha: Don't get too comfortable, Saotome. Things have changed…

Author's Note:

This chapter took as long as it did to write mainly because of writer's block I had while working the last quarter of the chapter. To solve the problem the ambitiously long original Chapter Ten was cut in half to about normal length. Originally there was to be a lot more to this addition, but I guess I'll have to include it in the next chapter. Anyway with all that in mind the pacing of this chapter isn't up to my set standard but it was either that or wait even longer to post something. I chose to post.

Also, as far as I can remember I don't recall seeing anything that resembled okonomiyaki in the Dragon Ball comics. Though I didn't do a panel by panel check of every single chapter to confirm (And also I don't watch the anime anyway) I'm just going to go ahead and assume it doesn't exist. It's my story, I can do that.


	11. Tournament of Dreams pt1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (Or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me…if you know what's good for you!

Just kidding (Seriously, don't sue me).

**The Story Thus Far:** Saotome Ranma, after a mishap involving the Gate-Way Spring, found himself trapped in the World of Dragon Balls. After meeting and befriending Son Goku and teen genius Bulma he managed to uncover all seven spheres and wished himself home. However the young man has now abandoned his old life on his home world, choosing exile after his father Genma banished the boy's oldest friend Kuonji Ukyo to the fate he himself just escaped. Vowing to never return home Ranma again steps into "Dragon World" in the hopes of sending his friend back with a wish from the Eternal Dragon…and hopefully cut all ties to his own past once and for all!

**Last Chapter: **After reuniting with Son Goku (And learning the fate of the Dragon Balls) Ranma joins in the training under Muten Roshi alongside his "little brother" and new "friend" Kuririn, a monk. The training is incredibly difficult and dangerous, but the prize is being allowed to compete in the Tenka'ichi Budōkai, the world foremost martial arts tournament. Eager to satisfy his ego Ranma endures the hermit's trials for the better part of a year. However, unbeknownst to the boy, his rival Ryoga has just stumbled upon his location…

**Chapter 11**

**The Tournament of Dreams Part One:**

**Team Ranma Reunited!**

Ryoga is an unlucky person. He was born without a sense of direction, spent most of his life being lost somewhere or another, was not blessed with an abundance of intellect and therefore found himself in unhappy situations all the time. He knew he shouldn't have gone with Ranma back through the Gate-Way Spring, seeing as it took so long to escape that cursed world, but honor demanded that he finish the fight with his rival and the pig tailed boy seemed to indicate he was never coming back. Upon falling through time and space and landing in the lake by Goku's cottage Ryoga immediately swam for shore at a fast pace, hoping the sooner they found Ukyo the sooner they could have their long awaited fight.

Of course once he reached land he realized that nothing looked familiar and Ranma was nowhere to be found. Once again Hibiki Ryoga was lost on this strange word.

Last time Ryoga managed to stumble across Ranma within a week and a half of being stranded on this world, but this time no matter where he wandered he could not find the Saotome Heir. Days into weeks and soon weeks into months; the bandana clad fighter moved from place to place always with the same question of "Where is Saotome Ranma?" and always with the same negative response. During this time the lost boy saw many places, met many people and had several adventures before he blundered upon this tiny island, but those are tales for another time. Suffice to say by this point Ryoga had experienced bad luck in finding food in this latest leg of his journey and hunger and fatigue had finally caught up with him. The last thing he remembered was the how hot the sun was today before blacking out.

The next thing he knew he was in a place he'd never been before laying on a futon he'd never slept in. It looked like he was in a house. This wasn't unexpected: for a man with a lifestyle such as Ryoga's the kindness of strangers was vital and it was likely his latest predicament had attracted the attention of some kindly old woman or some such thing. Such was his lot in life. He'd have to work off his debt as quickly as he could, say "thank you" and continue his quest.

"He's coming to," said a voice that Ryoga could only describe as heavenly. Looking up he saw a beautiful blue haired girl standing over him and smiling. "Thank goodness," the angel said. "We were worried."

"Am I dead?' the lost boy asked.

"Of course not, sugar," said a new voice. A young "man" with long brown hair said. Oddly "he" had a spatula on "his" back which wasn't something you see every day. "You just passed out. Here, eat this." "He" handed Ryoga a sizable portion of okonomiyaki, something Hibiki hadn't seen in a long time. Not bothering to make any logical connection he quickly gobbled the pancake-like food up.

"Thank you for your kindness," Ryoga said, bowing to both his rescuers (Though sneaking glances at the blue haired girl).

The spatula boy just waved him off. "Don't worry about it." "His" face suddenly became serious. "Hey, by any chance are you bandit?"

The fanged martial artist was taken aback by this, but managed to shake his head with a determined "No!"

The helpful brown haired "boy" as well as the girl both sighed in relief. "We heard you ran with Yamcha and frankly I've had enough of dealing with that guy's buddies," the spatula wielding young man explained.

Upon hearing that name Ryoga frowned. "That bandit…I was forced to work with him for a common goal but he's no friend of mine! He's a thief and probably a murderer." He paused before continuing, looking at the blue haired girl rather sheepishly. "You seem to know me, but I don't know you."

"My name is Lunch," the blue haired girl said, smiling cheerfully.

"I'm Ukyo," the spatula "boy" said.

"Hm," Ryoga thought to himself. "That must be a more popular name than I realized."

"If you don't mind us asking," Lunch said, almost as sheepishly as Ryoga. "What are you doing on an out of the way island like this?"

Anger began filling the lost boy's aura. "There's a man I've been looking for; a man I've sworn to defeat." He eyes look upon his hosts with deadly seriousness. "Do you know Saotome Ranma?"

It suddenly clicked for Ukyo. That was how Ranma knew this person; he was an enemy looking to settle a score. She would need to plan this carefully, maybe lure this guy off the island before the pig tailed boy ever realized he had been there-

"Oh what luck," Lunch said, interrupting Ukyo's thought process. "Ranma actually lives here. He should be back soon." Ukyo found herself falling face first to the floor. Clearly Lunch wasn't thinking as cautiously as she was.

Ryoga for his part smiled evilly, complete with tears of joy. "Finally…after all these hard months…"

Ukyo wasn't sure if he was happy or infuriated, but she decided to try to calm him down. "Look, I get the feeling that you're not a bad guy, so maybe you can just settle down and you and Ranchan can just talk about this."

The bandana clad youth growled at that. "The time for words passed a long time ago. I appreciate your charity, but anyone who stands between me and my revenge will suffer the consequences!"

The chef sighed at this. "I guess you're just a stubborn jackass after all." She pulled out her battle spatula. "I guess I'll have to make you calm down the old fashioned way!"

Ryoga growled at this as he stood from the futon. "Fine! Any ally of Ranma is an enemy of mine! And I won't underestimate you like I did Son Goku!"

Lunch blinked at this almost blankly. "So does this mean you won't be joining us for dinner then?"

As if to answer the young martial artist struck Ukyo with a blow full force. The chef was barely able to put her weapon up in a defensive position that caught most of the attack but the power was still enough to literally knock her through a window. With her own martial art skill she managed to land on her feet outside of the Kame House unharmed but only just.

"This guy…he's totally different from those guys we fought in the desert," Ukyo mused to herself. As if to prove the point the walls of the Kame House seemed to crumble as Ryoga punched through like it was tissue paper. This only made the chef more nervous. "He's some sort of monster!"

The fanged fighter leapt at the chef, intent on taking her down quickly. "You're no Ranma. You're not even a Goku. This isn't worth my time!"

Before the crushing blow could connect the cry of "Kamehameha" filled the area as a beam of blue energy struck Ryoga knocking him out of mid-air causing him to land hard on the ground. Picking himself back up he caught the image of the man responsible. "Saotome Ranma!"

Indeed, Ranma along with Goku and Kuririn had arrived, with Chi-Chi in tow. Ranma's usual easy going attitude was missing, replaced with an unusually angry scowl. "When Chi-Chi told me you were here I was hoping we could talk," the pig tailed boy spat out. "But I guess you rather beat up on some girls instead."

"Yeah, you jerk," Goku added sticking his tongue out at their self-declared rival.

"Girls?" Ryoga said confused, dusting himself off. Ranma noted that even though he took that Kamehameha blast he didn't seem that hurt by it. "Don't bother with your lies, Ranma, I know a man when I see one!"

Goku, perhaps a little confused himself, walked up behind Ukyo with nothing but good intentions…and ripped her shirt off. Mortified the chef quickly attempted to cover herself up, but not before Ryoga got a look at her…assets.

"See?" Goku said, smiling. "She's got those 'breast' things. So she's gotta be a girl."

Ryoga found himself completely off-guard by the revelation. Clutching his head he bellowed "My god what have I done? I pummeled a innocent girl!"

Unconcerned with his opponents remorse Ranma rushed at the lost boy at full speed , launching at him with a flying kick. "You wanna finish the Bread Feud, right? Let's finish it now, jerk!" Impressive words…that soon fell flat as Ryoga easily dodged out of the way of the attack causing the pig tailed boy to crashing into the ground.

"You're much slower than usual, Ranma," Ryoga said having apparently forgotten his self-deprecation.

Ranma cursed at this. He was right, of course. The turtle shell the pig tiled fighter wore had effectively handicapped his combat ability. Meanwhile Ryoga had obviously been undergoing his own crazy training. This was a no-win situation!

Ryoga moved toward his downed foe with vigor. "This is it, Ranma! Prepare to die!"

Before the lost boy could bring his fist down to finish off Ranma he found his arm suddenly unable to move. In fact it appears as if someone had literally grabbed it in such speed that he didn't even see them move. Sure enough there was Kame-Sen'nin causally holding the fanged fighters arm, while at the same time relaxing with a pipe.

"Can't…move…arm," Ryoga said as he tried desperately to break free of the old man.

The Turtle Hermit gave Ryoga a stern look. "Sorry, lad, but I can't tolerate you attacking my disciples while they're still in training."

"Wow, the old man is cool!" Goku declared.

Kuririn nodded in agreement. "They don't call him the invincible old master for nothing!"

Ranma smirked a bit, though somewhat bitterly. "Stupid old freak. That was my fight."

Finally the old man released Ryoga who instinctively backed away and put up a fighting stance. This seemed to amuse the hermit even more. "Oh? Are you challenging me now?"

Ryoga frowned, but relaxed. "No. I have no grudge against you. And I remember you destroying Fry-Pan Mountain last year. But even so this is between myself and Saotome and a matter of pride! Don't interfere!"

Kame-Sen'nin took a puff from his pipe. "I wouldn't dream of interfering, lad, but now isn't the time to fight. Until he has completed my training I will not allow Ranma, or any of my students, to engage in any duels. However four months from now he will be taking part in the Tenka'ichi Budōkai. If you want to finish your feud with him I suggest taking part in the tournament and facing him there."

Ryoga thought about this. In his travels he had heard a bit about the "Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament." While not ideal it would seem that the Muten Roshi was the one calling the shots here. "Fine. We'll settle this there."

"Be warned," the old man said, looking stern. "The Ranma you'll face there will not be the same Ranma you've faced in the past. I promise you this."

Ranma snickered at that. "Yeah right, you can't even find the bathroom. No way you'll find the tournament grounds, even with a head start.

"Damn you, Ranma!' Ryoga yelled. "I swear I'll rip your head off! At the Tenka'ichi Budōkai this will end one way or another!" With that he stormed off angrily, his pride suffering greatly.

"He forgot his stuff," Chi-Chi noted.

"Don't worry about," Ranma said causally. "He'll think of it later when he calms down."

At this point Lunch mad her way out of the Kame House, looking a bit confused a maybe a bit frightened. "Did he leave?"

"It's alright now," the turtle assured his houseguest.

"I was hoping he'd stay for dinner," the blue haired girl sad, somewhat sadly.

Completely missing the dreamy look on her face Ranma turned his attention to his master. "I could have handled him, old freak."

The Turtle Hermit shrugged. "You'll soon get your chance. But the hate in that young man's eyes; you have a passionate enemy in that boy. Don't take him lightly."

"Feh, whatever," Ranma said ignoring his master's words. "Once I get this shell off me I'll teach that idiot a thing or two about fighting."

Goku smiled at the confrontation between Ranma and the Muten Roshi noting the return of the status quo. "All's well that ends well." He failed to notice an extremely rage filled Ukyo creeping up behind him clutching her battle spatula like never before. "Sooon Goookuuuu!"

Just as Goku started to sense the killing intent he found himself assaulted by the infuriated Ukyo. "How dare you do that to me!"

"Huh," Ranma mumbled to himself as the chef beat the holy stuffing out of the former monkey tailed boy. "So that's what that looks like from the outside. You know from this perspective it's kind of funny."

Kuririn nodded. "I always thought so."

* * *

And so four months pass. The turtle training routine, made more difficult by the increasing weight of the turtle shells, began being conquered by not only the pig tailed youth but both Goku and Kuririn as well. The three found themselves comrades, sticking together to procure a common dream: the Tenka'ichi Budōkai. After weeks of backbreaking exercise the fateful morning came when the Turtle hermit called his disciples out into the yard. Excited for their friends Ukyo, Ch-Chi and Lunch watched on.

"Congratulations are in order, lads," Kame-sen'nin exclaimed. "You may remove your shells."

"About time, old freak," Ranma commented as he quickly took the heavy turtle shell off.

Kuririn, now free of his shell, tried moving his arms and stretching his legs. "I have to say I'm feeling very light."

"No kidding," Goku agreed.

The old man smirked. "Why not try jumping?"

The students complied soon finding themselves launched incredibly high into the air; inhumanly so!

"Oh man," Kuririn exclaimed upon landing. "Were we flying just now?"

Ranma smirk confidently. "No, but that was next best thing."

The old turtle master chuckled at his students' delight as all three began jumping and running around, testing their new found speed. "Lads, I think you just might be ready for the tournament."

* * *

Within the hour the students were loading luggage into a cab that would soon take them to their long awaited destination. All three of them were wearing grey suits with a matching hat. Ranma smirked a bit as he loaded up his master's suitcase. His vertically challenged companions couldn't have looked more ridiculous. They soon ran off, distracted by their new shell-less movement, leaving the oldest boy alone.

The pig tailed boy's chore was soon interrupted by the now familiar presence of Ukyo, herself carrying a large case. "So," the chef began, somewhat sheepishly. "I guess this is it, huh?"

"Yeah," Ranma said relieving her of her luggage with the ease. "The Tenka'ichi Budōkai. I feel like I've been waiting years to get to this point."

Ukyo nodded, but found herself hesitating in what she really wanted to say. Missing this Ranma continued. "It's weird, you know. All this time with Goku, you, Chi-Chi, hell, even Kuririn and Lunch. I don't think I've ever been around so many people for so long, with me and Pop always traveling."

"Oh, yeah," the chef replied. "Same here, sugar. It's been pretty good." She again hesitated, causing an uncomfortable silence until mustering up the courage to speak. "Look Ranchan, I know we haven't talked about it in a few months but about going home-"

"No sweat," the young martial artists replied, interrupting his friend's sentence. "As soon as the tournament is over we'll go looking for the Dragon Balls. I haven't forgotten, don't worry. I always keep my promises."

With that he turned his attention to trying to fit Ukyo's case into the taxi leaving the chef far too embarrassed to try to continue with what she as trying to say. You see, Ukyo didn't have much to return to on her home world and after a year on this one she wasn't certain she was ready to go back just yet. But Ranma seemed so set to finding those Dragon Balls; she couldn't bring herself to tell him "Never mind", especially since he came all this way back for her. Ironically she had no way of knowing that despite Rama's gung-ho attitude about the subject he had absolutely no intention of going back with her, something that he hadn't specifically mentioned in the past year because he worried she would be hurt.

Communication is so important.

The sound of struggling from the Kame House broke the awkwardness between the two as the blue haired Lunch soon grabbed their attention. She was dragging, with little success, the abandoned backpack and umbrella of Hibiki Ryoga who had left it behind some months prior. Clearly she had underestimated its weight.

"Where do you think you're going with that thing?" Ranma asked, somewhat amused.

Lunch took the opportunity to drop what she was doing to address the two other teenagers. "Well I thought since Ryoga-san had left his bag here I'd return it to him at the tournament. It's heavier than I thought. He must be very strong to be able to handle it so casually."

Ranma rolled his eyes at this. "First of all I'm pretty sure odds are against Lost Boy finding his way there on time. Second of all you don't have to come along. We can get him his stuff easy enough without you."

Lunch blushed and seemed unable to reply, but lucky for her Ukyo picked up on this. "Don't be a jackass, Ranchan," she said to her old friend, sticking out her tongue. "Ranma will put this backpack in the cab, so why don't you run back inside and grab your bag."

Lunch smiled brightly at that. She bowed and ran back inside with a "Thanks boss." "Boss" being the term Lunch and Chi-Chi had begun addressing the spatula wielding chef in the months working for her.

Ukyo gave Ranma a smile as he lifted his rivals backpack over his head effortlessly. "Isn't that cute, Ranchan? I think she has a crush on Ryoga."

"Further proof that there are some serious problems with that girl," was his response. Inwardly Ranma hoped that the blue haired girl didn't sneeze while they were in the air.

"Less talking, more packing," the familiar voice of the Turtle Hermit declared. Also dressed in a suit and looking a bit more respectable than usual the Muten Roshi emerged from his house, looking rather impatient. "You don't want us to miss our plane, do you lad?"

"Old Fart, this car ride's gonna be a nightmare," Ranma said to his master. "With you, me, Ukyo and the shrimps it's already a tight fit but Chi-Chi's insisting on coming along to cheer on Goku and Lunch seems to think she's going to win Ryoga's heart with baggage."

Kame-Sen'nin gave Ukyo a lustful smile. "Well I guess Ukyo will have to sit on my lap to make room, eh?"

Ukyo's response was to be expected; she slammed her huge battle spatula over the head of the old martial artist, sending him face first to the ground. Kuririn, who had been watching all this from the safety of the first floor house window gave his sensei and puzzled look. "Master, if you are such an invincible fighter how do you constantly find yourself being beaten by women you've offended?"

"Chivalry, m'lad," the old hermit said as he tried to stand. Though truthfully this was something he asked himself everyday day for many years.

* * *

The flight to the island where the Tenka'ichi Budōkai was being held was uneventful. The group of now former housemates soon found themselves at the gates of the appropriate venue; an old temple. The hustle and bustle of the place was impressive as many people of many different walks of life seemed to be all over the grounds. Though most were spectators there were clear examples of martial artists as well. They would be the competition.

"Feh," Ranma spat, smirking in his cocky style. "I doubt they would have been much to worry about even before the training."

This outburst earned Ranma a blow to the head courtesy of his master. "Don't be overconfident, Ranma," the Turtle Hermit warned. "Regardless of how much you've trained there will always be someone out there stronger than you. Remember this!"

Ranma shrugged, obviously dismissing his sensei. Annoyed, the hermit went off to registration to sign his students up letting the youngsters give each other quick goodbyes.

"Oh Goku-san" Chi-Chi said, having hugged the spiky haired boy far too tightly. "Good luck! I'll be cheering for you, okay?"

"Ah geez," Goku said, embarrassed but unsure how to react.

Ukyo gave Ranma a quick hug. "Good luck, Ranchan. I'll be out here making the rounds. I'll be selling okonomiyaki in the crowd, but once you make it to the main ring I'll be in the front row. See you out there, sugar!"

"Also when you see Ryoga-san let him know we have his backpack at the hotel," Lunch added, somewhat shyly.

Ranma smirked. "Sure thing. We'll see you guys a little later."

Freeing himself from his fiancée Goku gave his friends a big wave. "Bye Ukyo! Chi-Chi! Lunch!"

With that Ranma, Kuririn, and Goku followed Kame-sen'nin into the inner parts of the courtyard, right in front of the entrance of the building.

"Lads," Kame-Sen'nin started. "I had something made for all of you." It was of course an orange dogi with the kanji for "turtle" stitched on the front and back; three for each of them. "I will accompany you only this far. Only eight contestants will make it through the qualifying rounds to fight in front of the audience. If you make it to the tournament proper I shall have no complaints. Go out there and do your best."

"Yes master, we'll try at least."

"Yup! We'll make you proud!"

"Yeah yeah. Whatever, old freak."

Whack!

"Alright alright, sorry! Geez!"

* * *

The plaza holding the qualifying matches was rather large. There were numerous small fighting rings spread out the building and there were a very large number of contestants, easily over one hundred as far as Ranma could see. Most of them looked to be muscular sorts or bearing the confidence of a master. The whole scene was rather intimidating. The three boys, now each wearing the traditional uniform of the Turtle School, found themselves starring in the heart of their future opponents.

"Oh man," Kuririn mumbled, clearly intimidated. "I…I think we rushed things, guys. I mean…look at them! They're huge!"

"Quit bellyaching, Cueball," Ranma said, casually. "Just because you were at the bottom of the class doesn't mean you'll get eliminated here. Probably."

Goku put his arm around his bald friend and gave him a smile. "I think what Big Brother is trying to say is that we just have to trust in the old man's training," he said with surprising wisdom.

The former monk sighed. "Easy for you to say Goku. You and Ranma are naturals. I doubt I'll make it to the main tournament at all…"

Before they could continue one of the attending monks began to address all of the fighters to explain the rules. The fights would take places on the mini rings. The first to fall off, ask for mercy, or be knocked out would lose and the winner would move on. There were one hundred and thirty-nine masters competing this year but only eight would make it to the Tenka'ichi Budōkai.

Ranma felt a ping of excitement he rarely gets. Goku was chomping at the bits to get into a ring. Poor Kuririn was noticeably shaking. Soon they each drew numbers and quickly determined that they were spaced out as such that if they wouldn't have to fight one another until the actual tournament, something the former monk was thankful for. Ranma's number was called first. The pig tailed martial quickly found himself in the middle of a ring facing an older man, dressed in loose fighting pants and shirtless.

"So," the man said to Ranma showing off his rather toned upper body. "I guess you're some kid out to make a name for himself, huh? You should have picked an easier tournament."

The other worldly fighter smiled evilly. "I guess you hadn't heard yet, but Saotome Ranma is the best there is!"

"BEGIN!" The judge yelled. At that instant the opponent tried a fast strong blow in the hopes of teaching Ranma a lesson, but the pig tailed fighter effortlessly dodged the attack. A second attempt resulted in even more blatant miss.

"Huh," Ranma said, a bit curious. "I know I was talking big just now but you really are slow. I mean, I'm pretty certain I could dodge this crap in my sleep. Seriously."

The older man lost his temper at that. He charged Ranma at full force. "Don't underestimate me, boy!" Despite his spirit he was sidestepped by an unimpressed Saotome youth. In a fluid motion the pig tailed boy turned back toward his out-classed opponent to give him a light shove to force a ring out.

The shove pushed the man a full twenty feet into the crowd.

"Winner…Number 120!"

Ranma was left staring at his hand in disbelief. He had barely touched him; just enough to make him loose his balance, he thought.

"Way to go, Big Brother!" Goku declared as he tackled Ranma in the ring. Kuririn joined them, excited as well.

"I can't believe they let an amateur like that guy in Tenka'ichi Budōkai," the bald youngster declared.

Was he an amateur? Ranma hadn't thought so; he certainly carried himself like a fighter…

"Numbers 70 and 69, you're up next!" a judge yelled.

"Alright!" Goku declared, warming up his arm as he made his way to the ring. "I'll show you the results of my training, Big Brother!"

His opponent was a large mustached man who, as with Ranma, he defeated with practically zero effort.

"Did he trip?" Kuririn asked.

"I think,' Ranma explained. "This may be the old freak's training…"

Before Kuririn could reply he was slapped on the head. Turning he saw two familiar faces. They were monks dressed as he had when he first arrived at Kame House, though both were larger than him. One skinny and one overweight neither seemed like they were old friends.

"Well, if it isn't Kuririn," the taller one said in a mocking tone. "I haven't seen you since you left Orin Temple with your tail between your legs, ya crybaby."

Kuririn instantly lost what little self confidence he was carrying, suddenly looking at the floor in shame. "What do you think you're doing here, shrimp?" The fat one asked.

The lanky one laughed. "Oh god, you're not competing are you? What a joke! What's your number?"

"Ninety-three," Kuririn managed to say.

"Ha! You're my opponent," the tall one said excitedly. "It'll just be like old times, huh small fry?"

At this point Ranma lost his patience and grabbed the bullying monk but his collar showing an anger that he was not known for. "You disrespect Kuririn again and I'll break your jaw, jerk."

The monk didn't seem worried. "Oh yeah? What are you going do? Hit me with your pig tail?"

Ranma paused then released the monk. "No. I won't do a thing. But Kuririn's gonna make you look stupid in your match. Trust me, baldy; ninety percent of the guys in here ain't a match for him anymore and you can bet your ass you ain't one of the exceptions."

Both of the monks laughed at this and began to leave. The tall one made sure to keep eye contact with Ranma however. "Whatever you say. I hope you make it to the quarterfinals so I can shut you up along with your new pal." He turned over to Kuririn. "As for you I'll see you real soon, old buddy." They left laughing the whole way.

Kuririn for his part was looking worse for the wear. "Damn it Ranma, now's he's even more worked up than before."

Ranma shrugged. "Don't sweat it. Just go out there and beat the crap out of him. I know you can."

He former monk paused. "You really think I can?"

Goku nodded. "Of course! Hit him with all you got, Kuririn!"

The bald martial artist looked over at his two training companions, both looking at him with utter confidence in his skills. This was far more than he had in himself. "I…I guess it's good to have friends."

His spiky haired counterpart nodded with a large grin on his face. "Yup!"

"Just don't make me a liar, okay pal?" Ranma said, smiling as well.

Kuririn nodded and, with new found determination, headed for his match.

Goku looked over at his pig tiled friend. "He's already won."

"Goku, I think all of us have already won these matches."

Taking Goku's advice Kuririn did in fact hit his old temple mate with everything he had. He knocked him clear through a wall!

* * *

Yamcha watched the match in front of him with great anticipation. It featured a man who, as of this morning, he honestly didn't believe he'd ever see again. From his progress so far it was obviously he had improved since they last met.

"Winner…Number 5! Number 5 qualifies!"

Hibiki Ryoga stood over his defeated opponent, a man whose strongest blow barely registered. He had breezed through this match against a winged creature called Giran, who now lied unconscious on the ground.

"Impressive Ryoga" Yamcha commented as he helped his former traveling companion down from the ring. He had already qualified and had not had much trouble so far. "I think it's safe to say that you'll be the only real fighter I'll have to worry about at this rate."

Ryoga smirked. He wasn't yet used to Yamcha's new hair style. He had cut off his once long locks in favor of a shorter style with a red bandana around his head. "Thanks again for keeping an eye on me. I hate to admit it but I could get lost at any moment. Then I'd never get my shot against Ranma."

Yamcha nodded, but at the mention of that name he frowned deeply. Shrugging it off he patted Ryoga a on the shoulder. "No problem, that's what friends are for. You're lucky I found you at the archway when I did. How long were you camped there?"

Ryoga shrugged. "A week and a half at least. I stumbled on to the temple and they told me I was at the location for the Strongest Under the Heavens tournament so I just planted myself there. I couldn't risk wandering off, so…"

The former bandit smirked. "Don't worry. Go ahead and take a seat here. I need to go check on something. Don't. Leave. This spot."

The lost boy sheepishly nodded and he sat on the temple floor. "Just hurry up. This is embarrassing."

Yamcha nodded and soon disappeared into the crowd. In truth the former desert fighter was in a foul mood. Though he was genuinely pleased to see Ryoga here after all these months alive and well (Despite the wish made they could not know whether or not the Eternal Dragon had indeed sent them back to their world) the fanged boy was clearly under the impression that he would be facing Ranma at the tournament which meant that Saotome was back on this world as well. And he was on this island right now.

Saotome Ranma was in the same area as his girlfriend. This did not make Yamcha happy.

This all began the night Ranma and Ryoga were sent back where (After a strange altercation with Goku) both Bulma and Yamcha found themselves without their wishes fulfilled and heartbroken. In the immediate aftermath they found consoling comfort in each other's arms and the bandit and his friend Pu'ar relocated to West City with the teen genius so they could be together. However as time went on Yamcha began to suspect that it was not her wish going unfulfilled that broke Bulma's heart but in fact something else….someone else.

Though Bulma denied it many times Yamcha began to believe that he was a replacement of sorts for the pig tailed boy. Certainly he was very similar to him; comparable height, a familiar build and long black hair. Recently Bulma had even mistakenly called him "Ranma"; more than once. Suspicion turned to bitterness for the young man and, over time, he began to resent his girlfriend's former traveling companion. Luckily for him he was no longer a factor and the formerly long haired fighter could devote time to proving that he was a better match for her.

And then, hours ago, Ryoga told him Ranma was not only here, just literally minutes from meeting Bulma again after all her silent longing.

Plus he heard that Ranma had trained along Goku under the Muten Roshi. This was not too surprising; where Goku was Ranma was likely to be close by after all. Regardless during this first round he heard rumors of a young boy with strange disproportionate strength to his frame. He needed to see his pig tailed rival with his own eyes and if this kid was who he suspected…

Ironically it was indeed Ranma who he saw first. Dressed in an unfamiliar uniform Ranma was in a ring facing down a rather attractive woman. Yamcha decided he would move in closer to watch the contest and see if Ranma had improved or not. Last time they fought they were more or less even so long as there weren't any cats around.

Ranma looked at his opponent nervously. Not because of her beauty, though he couldn't discount that she was very pretty, but by the seductive look she was giving him. "Be gentle with me," the woman known as Ran Fuan said, winking seductively at the pig tailed fighter.

Ranma looked away shyly, seemingly unsure what to do. Taking advantage Ran Fuan struck with an elbow right into Ranma face. Unhurt but appearing to have lost his balance the former Saotome Heir seemed to be easy pickings for another attack. The fighting women dashed at her opponent and attempted to jump kick him out of the ring…and she missed. The Turtle School disciple gracefully managed to dodge the attack at the last second and Ran Fuan found herself out of bounds and out of the tournament.

"Winner…Number 120! Number 120 qualifies!"

"Nice try, lady," Ranma said winking back his defeated foe. "But I live with three girls. I ain't gonna fall for tricks like that so easily."

"Even so," the familiar voice of Yamcha called out to Ranma form ringside. "You allowed her to strike you. I see you're still so confident in your skills that you'll walk right into a trap. Hello Saotome."

Ranma smirked at his old rival, offering a hand as he came down from the ring. "It ain't a trap if you're good enough to break it. It's been while. Nice hair cut. Did ya lose a bet or something?"

Yamcha ran his hands through his now sort hair. "Bulma had been bugging me to cut it," he lied. No need to hide Bulma's presence since he'd find out or sooner or later, but he be damned if he admitted that he had actually cut it because she had suggested that he tie it in a pigtail.

"Bulma?" Ranma said, confused.

"Oh yeah," Yamcha said somewhat wickedly. "We're dating now."

The pig tailed boy was silent. He had wanted to look for Bulma a long while ago but had no idea where to start looking. It seems though that she had gotten together with that low rent, no good bandit. Apparently she got her wish for a boyfriend after all.

Not that he cared, of course! Nope! Not one bit!

"So," Yamcha said, breaking the silence. "I didn't believe it a first but here you are. Even Shenlong couldn't get rid of you." He gave a friendly laugh…but not really. "I heard you came back to rescue your girlfriend."

Ranma shock his head vigorously. "No way! No way! Ukyo's not my girlfriend! And do me a favor; if you see her don't mention that in front of her. I don't know how much she knows and I don't wanna put thoughts in her head! We're just friends!"

The former bandit gave a blank look at that. "Oookay, that sounds like a long story."

At that moment Ranma was once again tackled by his now tail-less best friend excitedly. "We did it, Big Brother! We made to the tournament!"

Kuririn appeared besides his training partner, now armed with a big grin. "Even I made it! And it was easy!"

"Told you so, Cueball," Ranma said picking himself up.

Yamcha chuckled at the display. "It's good to see you again, Son Goku. You haven't changed a bit."

Goku looked at the at the short haired young man with uncertainty before looking over at Ranma. The older boy mouthed a name to give him a hint. "Yamcha? Yamcha!"

The former bandit nodded. "I guess we'll all be seeing each other in the Tenka'ichi Budōkai. Ryoga as well."

Goku grinned happily. "Alright! This is going to be the best thing EVER!"

Kuririn gave a knowing look. "Easily excitable, ain't he?"

"So Ryoga managed to find his way here after all," a surprised Ranma remarked. "I guess we may settle things today juts like he wanted." He smirked at that, though he didn't realize it.

'So will we,' Yamcha thought to himself. "Actually guys, Bulma and Pu'ar should be by the main arena right now. If you hurry you can give a quick 'hello' before the fighting starts."

Ranma felt himself freeze. He felt unsure and unready though he wasn't sure why. He didn't really have a chance to argue as Goku spoke for him. "Alright! It'll be just like old times," the boy declared.

"Um…yeah," Ranma muttered. "Just like old times…"

As the three turtle students made their way out of the temple Yamcha spat in Ranma's general direction. "I don't know how good you've gotten, Saotome," he said to himself. "But I swear to God I'll never let you beat me in front of Bulma!"

* * *

"Hello," the Turtle Hermit said to his unsuspecting target. He had found her among the crowd looking for seating by the ring and it was child's play to sneak up on her undetected.

It took a second for Bulma to register who the old man was. Pu'ar, who was with her, looked on unsure of how interact with the aged master. "Kame-Sen'nin!" Bulma exclaimed once she recognized who it was. "Where the heck do you live? I came to visit your island but it was empty."

The old man shrugged. "We had to relocate. My tiny island isn't enough to train three strapping boys."

The teen genius raised an eyebrow. "Three? What do you mean-"

Before she could finish her question the sound "HEY PU'AR!" interrupted her thoughts as Son Goku suddenly appeared behind them. Pu'ar and Goku exchange hands. "Goku! It's you" the shape shifter exclaimed. "It's been so long!"

"H-hello," a shy Kuririn said, bowing from his spot nearby. "Nice to meet you."

"This is our training mate, Kuririn," Goku explained

Pu'ar gave a worried look. "Our training mate? You mean there's someone else..."

If you asked Bulma about what happened next she'll tell you that it happened so fast that she didn't really know what was what. In truth time seemed to move slowly for her. The crowd moved by in slow motion but with every person who moved out of the way there was an added piece of a hauntingly familiar sight. Blue eyes. Lean yet toned build. Pig tail. Cocky smirk.

"Yo," Ranma said.

As she moved towards him she felt herself gliding, never feeling her feet touch the floor. She approached the pig tailed boy and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. No longer in control of her movements she pulled him close to him and pressed his lips against hers. Time stopped for them and the year that had passed since they last met was gone.

And then a moment later Ranma pushed her away and darted back into the crowd.

"Okay-great-good-seeing-you-I-gotta-go-bye," Ranma screamed as he disappeared into the sea of humanity.

Ten seconds passed of Bulma with a goofy expression on her face before it was replaced by a combination of horror and shock. "Oh shit. Oh shit, what did I do?"

Most of Ranma's friends were speechless but Kuririn seemed more annoyed than shocked. "Man, that Ranma has got all the luck with the ladies. When this is over I better ask him for girl advice."

Ranma made it a ways before finding a clearing with few people around. As he leaned against a wall his brain (Extremely adept at problem solving when martial arts were concerned but lacking in social graces) attempted to figure out everything that just happened.

"Okay, so Bulma is with Yamcha," he said out loud to no one. "But then she sees me and the first thing she does is kiss me? What the hell does that mean? What am I supposed to do? God, this couldn't be any more confusing."

At that moment Ranma found himself be gently turned around and with his current state of mind he was too taken aback to fight it. In a move that he was completely unprepared for he found yet another girl's arms wrapped around him and once more locked in a kiss with a young woman who he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Wo ai ni," she said seductively as she brushed her purple hair out of her eyes.

To be continued…

Preview of next chapter:

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. You know, I really really hoped that you two wouldn't make it back into the story. You know, just for a nice change of pace.

Cologne: Well Son-in-Law, as the saying goes "The more things change the more they stay the same."

Ranma: "Son-in-Law" my ass! I got more important things to worry about than girl problems! Like winning the Tenka'ichi Budōkai!

Cologne: My Great-Grand Daughter and I didn't cross the dimensional plain between two worlds simply so you could ignore us, Son-in-Law. Win or lose this tournament you will be coming with us when it is over.

Ranma: How am I supposed to beat Ryoga when I've got crap like this on my mind? Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Tournament of Dreams Part Two: Ryoga's Rage!"

Goku: I don't know what Ukyo and Bulma are arguing about but boy do they look angry!

Author Notes

I'd apologize for the time it took to write this chapter but this is pretty par for the course, I'm afraid. Frankly if I manage to get a chapter done in less than four years I feel I'm doing better than four chapters ago. Anyway I have gotten some requests to bring Shampoo back and here she is. Though I should say that I'd been planning to do this since the chapter she first showed up otherwise what would be the point of having that scene? I may have said this before but one problem I had with the first arc of this story was the lack of Ranma ½ characters since, in my opinion, the cast of the manga is the best thing about it. I will introduce other characters at some point but I will not say who, when or how until it happens. (HINT: The Dojo Destroyer will not make an appearance in this story…or will he? No he won't)

I don't know when Chapter 12 will hit. Before 2013 hopefully.


	12. Tournament of Dreams pt2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (Or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me as I have nothing and will never have anything.

**The Story Thus Far: **Saotome Ranma came to the World of Dragon Balls in a training accident and sought the power of Shenlong, the Dragon God, to return home. After meeting new friends and rivals and having several adventures he was wished back home, but soon returned to rescue his friend Kuonji Ukyo who was banished to the other world by his father. Vowing to remain here from now on he joined his best friend Son Goku to train under the tutelage of the Muten Roshi with the goal of winning the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai, a proverbial tournament of dreams, and proving that he is what he's always claimed he was: the best!

**Last Chapter: **During the last leg of the Turtle Training Ryoga showed up on the island looking to finish the Bread Feud, but the Turtle Hermit forced the Lost Boy to come to the Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament to face Ranma there. Once the training was completed the Turtle School disciples ventured to the fated island. There Ranma was reunited with Yamcha, who hates him now, Bulma, who kissed him as soon as she saw him, and a purpled haired Amazon he was not expecting to ever see again…

**Chapter 12**

**The Tournament of Dreams Part Two:**

**Ryoga's Rage!**

"You're that Amazon chick!" Ranma exclaimed to the girl with her arms currently wrapped around him.

"Nihao," Shampoo said sweetly. "Ranma happy to see wife, yes?"

Ranma pushed the Chinese girl away and backed up from the rather "healthy" purple haired warrior. "I guess you learned a little Japanese since last time," he said with an extreme amount of discomfort. "What are you doing here?"

Just moments ago he was kissed by Bulma, a girl he had traveled with for a long while but hadn't seen in a year. Literally second later the same thing happened here with a girl he had met once but hadn't seen in the same amount of time. It was…confusing.

Shampoo grinned at her pig tiled prey rather seductively. "Amazon wife follow husband where he goes," she explained with a wink. "Even here."

"Indeed," a cold and withered voice said from below Ranma's line of vision. Looking down he saw the same old woman from the Amazon village eyeing him with a neutral expression. "It's been a while, Son-in-Law."

Ranma again backed away, now more nervous than anything else. "The Old Crone, huh? I guess this is 'cause of that marriage ritual thing. I can't believe you followed me all the way here."

Cologne smirked, though it was somewhat grotesque sight. "We amazons are nothing if not persistent, Son-in-Law. If we let something as mundane as inter-dimensional travel stand in the way of us and our targets we couldn't call ourselves the world's greatest trackers and hunters, could we?"

"Yeah sure," Ranma said, now starting to become annoyed as his brain started to recover from the shock of kissing two beautiful women in the span of ten seconds. "But why now? That was so long ago. What, were you bored one day and said 'Hey, let's go track that kid who beat you up last year'?"

"On the contrary, Son-in-Law," Cologne replied. "Our search to claim Shampoo's would-be husband began just hours after you and your bandana wearing friend left us. We arrived at Jusenkyo shortly after you jumped into the Gate-Way Spring, but to follow blindly after you would have been foolish. We studied ancient text for any useful information we could gather about the other world. We also…shall I say 'persuaded' the Jusenkyo guides and your father to fill in any blanks about your situation.

"Once we were as prepared as we could be my great-grand daughter and I took a leave of absence from our village to embark into the unknown. We've been tracking you for the better part of this past year, Son-in-Law, but I must say with no small amount of shame that we lost your trail almost immediately after landing in the mountains upon arrival in this world."

Silently Ranma wondered if that was caused due to his riding of Baby Gamera, but decided to say nothing and allow the old woman to continue.

"After several months of failure I came across an interesting event that is held every five years on this world: The Tenka'ichi Budōkai, a showcase of the best this so-called 'Earth' has to offer in martial arts. I suspected that a talented and cocky young man such as yourself would likely make an appearance. And here you are, Son-in-Law."

Ranma folded his arms. "So you basically forced Shampoo over there to follow you around so you can force her to marry some guy she doesn't know. Great parenting there, granny."

"Not true," Shampoo declared. "Shampoo come because she loves airen! Shampoo wants to marry a strong man and Ranma show he very strong!" She gave a dreamy, almost fawning look to Ranma that was more bone chilling than anything else.

"It's as she says, Ranma," Cologne said with an evil look in her eyes. "You say she doesn't know you, but as we Amazons value strength above all else she knows you, the only person to defeat her in a duel, as only a true warrior can know another."

Before Ranma could respond speakers all over the grounds came to life. "Attention: The Tenka'ichi Budōkai is about to begin. Will the eight finalists please report the assembly hall or risk disqualification."

Ranma took this as in opportunity to make his escape. Leaping over the Amazons and landing on the top of a nearby wall he gave them a nervous wave. "Well, Old Ghoul, they're playing my song. I don't have time to mess around with you guys"

"Indeed, Son-in-Law," Cologne said with an understanding nod. "We shall not interfere with you while this tournament is in session. But be warned: My great-granddaughter and I didn't cross the dimensional plain between two worlds simply so you could ignore us. Win or lose this tournament you will be coming with us when it is over."

Ranma gulped, mainly due to the fact that she seemed so certain that it would happen that way. He knew from training with Kame-sen'nin that just because someone looks old and fragile it doesn't mean that couldn't beat the holy crap out of you. "Later, Old Crone."

With that Ranma headed back towards the assembly. Things had gone from bad to worse so quickly. On top of Ukyo being trapped here because of his father he now had indirectly caused another girl to come to this world AND he's technically engaged to both of them! And how Bulma fits into this he didn't know. This isn't what someone who's about to enter a life or death martial art battle should be thinking about before a match.

At least things couldn't get worse. This had to be rock bottom, right?

* * *

Bulma had rushed off from the group soon after Ranma darted off. She couldn't face them with what she had done. It was so stupid! She wasn't even sure what had happened. One moment she's talking to Kame-sen'nin and the next she's looking at a man she thought she'd never see again. Seeing him brought back all the memories from the weeks on the road so many months ago and she just…reacted.

The teen genius made her way ringside, alone and clearly distraught. While she wouldn't admit this aloud the past year made her realize that she indeed had feeling for Ranma, which made the tragedy of her letting him leave all the more bitter. But she had been moving on! She was with Yamcha now after all. But seeing the pig tiled boy there…she just moved without thinking. It was like a dream.

But everyone saw her! Even if Goku didn't blurt the information to Yamcha during the tournament Pu'ar would tell the former bandit at the earliest convenience. Certainly Ranma had never expressed any romantic interest to her and had apparently run off in a panic the one time she did.

Bulma was out emotionally exhausted and it showed.

"You look like you could use some okonomiyaki," a girl's voice said, momentarily disturbing her inner turmoil. Looking up she saw a girl with long brown clothing who was very pretty despite her rather masculine choice in clothing. She was standing by a food cart that produced a rather pleasant aroma.

"What's okonomiyaki? " Bulma asked half-heartedly.

The girl winked as she produced one of the pancake delicacies. "It's my family's personal recipe. It's on the house. You look like you could use a pick me up, sugar."

Bulma nodded as she took the mysterious dish. "I guess that's true. I'm Bulma, by the way."

"Ukyo," the girl said pointing at herself. "Nice to meet you."

* * *

The assembly was about the size of fairly normal dojo and certainly reminded Ranma of many he and his father had stayed at during their training voyage. He eyed the rest of the competitors as he stood against one of the walls. An old man, a tall man in a turban, Yamcha and Ryoga (Who were both glaring at him) and a fat guy who was literally the filthiest thing he'd ever seen; this represented the best in the world of martial arts.

It was a shame that Ranma as so distracted by earlier.

Ranma was soon joined by his training mates who had just arrived themselves. Kuririn had a sort of devilish smirk on his face as he elbowed his older fellow student in the ribs. "Hey buddy. That was some kiss. You sly dog, I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"

The pig tailed boy quickly covered the former monk's mouth. "Shut up, will ya! I don't want either of you talking to anybody about that kiss, got it?" He gave Goku a rather sinister glare. "Got it, Goku?"

The spiky haired boy did not scare easily but Ranma's expression sent a chill up his spine. "Got it, Big Brother."

As if by fate Yamcha picked this moment to approach the turtle school students. "Hey guys," he said somewhat gently. "Did you meet up with Bulma and Pu'ar?"

Goku scratched his head unsure of what to say that wouldn't upset Ranma. He simply nodded. The former bandit accepted that. He turned his attention to the pig tailed fighter and smirked. "I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but Bulma and I are totally living together now." Hi smirked widened. "You know how it is: a young couple in love, living in the big city."

"Not really," Ranma muttered, starting to question Yamcha's intentions.

"Well," Yamcha continued. "I hope this doesn't upset you, Saotome. I mean, I heard you and Bulma were pretty close during the Dragon Ball hunt, but I guess you blew your chance when you left-"

"HAHAHA," Ranma yelled out. It was a nervous yet explosive laugh that frightened everyone in the room. "That's a good one Yamcha. Me? Like that spoiled brat? Never. Nope. Not in a million years. I'd never go out with a girl like that. I certainly wouldn't kiss her. Nope. Not this guy."

Awkward silence filled the room as all the other fighters looked at him in total confusion (Except Kurirn, who just perplexed by his friend's completely lack of tack and subtlety). "What are you looking at?" he asked of everyone.

"Yes, well I suppose we should get started," a blonde man with sunglasses that Ranma hadn't noticed announced. "Gather round here, fighters." He held up a box with a single arm size opening in it. "We'll be drawing lots to determine the match-ups. When I call your name please come forward and draw a slip.

"First off, Namu."

The turban wearing man approached the box and drew his number as asked.

"#6 would put you in match three. Next is Saotome Ranma."

Ranma placed his hand in the box removing his number as well. "Looks, like I got #8"

The blonde made nodded. "That'd be match four. Next is Bacterian."

The large foul smelling man drew his number, which was # 2. Yamcha drew after this and picked #3. Kuririn drew next and immediately drew #1. "Match 1: Kuririn versus Bacterian," the sunglasses wearing ring announcer exclaimed.

"Hibiki Ryoga, you're up," the announcer said. The fanged martial artist closed his eyes as he dug through the container, as if he was praying. Upon glancing at his slip he gave a bright but evil smile directly at Ranma. He showed the paper for all to see as if it were a badge of honor; it read "#7".

"Right of the bat, huh?" Ranma said, with a smirk of his own.

"Match 4: Saotome Ranma versus Hibiki Ryoga."

The rest of the drawing went on without problems. Match 2 would be Jackie Chun, the old man, versus Yamcha while Match 3 would be Goku against Namu.

"Fighters," the announcer said to the gathered martial artists once the spots were determined. "This is it, the tournament will begin momentarily. Please take the next few minutes to prepare any last minute details. Once I call out your names report to the ring."

As the announcer left some of the participants found themselves in deep contemplation.

"Finally," Ryoga thought to himself. "We'll finish this once and for all, Ranma!"

"I just need to somehow make it to the finals," Yamcha thought to himself. "If I can beat Saotome in front of Bulma she'll finally understand that I'm not just some second prize."

"If I can beat this 'Numa' guy than I get to fight Big Brother," Goku mumbled to himself. "Cool!"

Not realizing the bull's eye that was placed on him by some of the other competitors Ranma too was deep in thought. "Bulma's got soft lips. But Shampoo has got a way better body, for sure." He suddenly snapped out of it. "Stop thinking like that, you pervert! Get your head into the damn tournament," he yelled at himself.

Looking around the pig tailed boy saw the other fighters again looking at him like he was insane. "What are you looking at?"

Meanwhile Kuririn was doing some heavy thinking of his own. "I'm going to lose, I just know it…"

Typical Kuririn, really.

* * *

"This is delicious," Bulma declared having gobbled up first plate of okonomiyaki. "I've never had anything like this before!"

Ukyo smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, sugar."

The two girls were ringside waiting for the beginning of the tournament. They had got to talking, Bulma telling Ukyo how she had kissed a boy she thinks she may have fallen in love with during the previous year suddenly despite being in a committed relationship. It was a pretty romantic situation, the chef thought. It was a story of two lovers separated, but under the grace of Kami-Sama, chanced to meet again.

No names had been mentioned. They just hadn't come up.

The conversation had changed topics however as the blue-green haired girl sampled Ukyo's cooking.

"And you say that this is your family's recipe, right?" Bulma asked somewhat opportunistically. "You know, with the right financial backing you could really get this stuff out to the public."

The martial arts chef smiled nervously at the girl's gung-ho attitude. "Well I always wanted to start a restaurant."

Bulma put her arm around the other girl. "Just to start out with, sure! But with my incomparable brilliance and your okonowhatever we could both make a lot of zenni!"

Ukyo was really starting to get uncomfortable with Bulma eerie yet hungry look and quickly tried change the subject. "Well maybe we can talk about that later. What about you? Do you think your boyfriend will be matched up with your friend?"

Bulma sank at that. "I hope not. I don't know who I'd cheer for if that happened. Yamcha wouldn't' like it if I cheered against him."

Ukyo paused at that name. Yamcha was the name of the bandit that Ranma and the others knew, wasn't it?

Before she had a chance to think about it longer Bulma gave her a friendly smile. "You have some friends competing too, right? Did they make it to the finals?"

The chef shrugged. "I'm not sure. I was busy selling okonomiyaki so I missed them earlier, but I assume they all made it. I'd be pretty upset in Ranchan was beaten so early."

Bulma crossed her eyes. "Ranchan? That's a dumb name."

Ukyo shrugged. "It' just an old nickname I use for him. His real name is Ran-"

Her voice was drowned out by the sound of the speakers. The tournament was beginning. In the center of the ring stood the Announcer, armed with his trusty microphone. He took in a deep breath.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. The 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai is about to begin! We have for you the greatest fighters of those who came here today. Who will win the five hundred thousand zenni first prize? Who will be declared the strongest under heaven?"

The crowd gave an approving cheer, including both Ukyo and Bulma. Elsewhere in the crowd Lunch was wildly clapping. "Go Ryoga-san!"

Chi-Chi, who was standing next to her, raised an eyebrow at the older girl. "Shouldn't we be rooting for Goku-san and the others?"

Lunch blushed at that. "O-of course. I just got caught up in the spirit of competition," she said nervously.

Chi-Chi shrugged at that. She gave there are a quick look around. The Muten Roshi was still nowhere to be seen. She had been looking all over for the old man but he was nowhere to be found. "Where could he be?"

The announcer continued. "Now, let's get our first match started!"

**Kuririn VERSUS Bacterian**

The bald monk gulped as his name was called. He, along with the others, were now stationed by the gate leading to the ring. "I guess this is it," he said. He turned to Goku. "Any last minute advice?"

"Yeah!" Goku declared. "Don't get beat up!"

"Gee, thanks Goku," Kuririn said, rolling his eyes. "You got anything Ranma?"

Ranma was also there, but clearly his mind was someplace else. He snapped out of it when the short fighter addressed him. "Huh? You say something, shorty?"

Kuririn shook his head. "Come on, Ranma, I know you got to make-out with a hot girl and everything but you better be aware of the here and now or else we'll disgrace our master."

The pig tailed boy nodded. "Yeah sure," he said lamely.

As Kuririn went out to the ring the boys didn't notice Jackie Chun staring at them.

With the fighters assembled the Announcer made his way off the stage, speaking into his microphone all the while. "Kuririn is the youngest fighter to ever compete in the tournament at a mere age of thirteen. How will he fare against Bacterian, a master who has never bathed a day in his life!

"Fighters ready? Begin!"

The fight was nothing to speak of. While the large and disgusting man seemed to have the advantage in the beginning with tactics involving his horrible aroma Goku quickly reminded Kuririn that he had no nose and thus couldn't actually smell anything. Once that was realized the monk made short work of Bacterian.

"Kuririn wins!"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Well that was pointless. That guy wasn't even really a fighter. What the hell was he doing here?"

Goku shrugged. "The rest of 'em won't be that easy, I don't think."

From her place in the audience Ukyo was cheering wildly for her housemate. "Go Kuririn!" she declared.

Bulma raised an eyebrow at that. "You know that kid?"

Ukyo nodded. "He's one of my friends in the tournament! We've all been living together the last year."

The teen genius scratched her head. "But that kid was with Goku and Ranma earlier."

"Ranma and Goku are my other friends," Ukyo said somewhat cautiously. "Do you know them as well?"

And then it clicked.

"You've been living with Ranma for the last year!" Bulma screamed in shock.

"Ranchan is the boy you kissed!" Ukyo yelled in horror.

From behind the gate entrance Ranma suddenly shuddered. "Hey Goku, is it cold in here or is it just me?"

Goku shrugged at that. "More importantly than that, Big Brother, you need to focus on your fight with Ryoga. You've been all distracted ever since that thing with Bulma."

The pig tailed boy sighed. "It's been a weird day, Goku." Ranma knew Goku was right, of course. His mind was on other things and not on the impending fight with his rival. "I'm sure it'll work out."

Despite his words Ranma as having a lot of trouble focusing. In truth he was completely at a loss as to what he was supposed to do once this tournament as over. It was bad enough that he hadn't been honest with Ukyo, about their engagement and his unwillingness to return home with her, but add to the fact that the Amazons were also there his already guild ridden bagged just became heavier.

Ranma knew that it wasn't his fault that Ukyo was sent to this world, it was his father. But even so he felt responsible for the whole thing hence one of the reasons he readily went after her. Shampoo and Cologne was more directly his own fault however and it was starting to sink in: his presence, his life, had drastically altered all their lives, including Ryoga's. He knew deep down that none of them were supposed to be here and if he hadn't gotten stubborn with his old man at Jusenkyo all of them would have taken very different paths.

The young Saotome wasn't sure if those paths would have been better or not, but being trapped on an alien Earth with almost no hope of ever going back didn't sound great on paper.

"Big Brother, are you even listening to me?" Goku asked, again snapping Ranma out of his train of thought.

"What? Yeah sure," Ranma lied. "You were talking about me being distracted."

The formerly monkey tailed you shook his head. "No, I was saying that Yamcha's fighting that old guy."

Sure enough Ranma had missed that Yamcha and Jackie Chun had passed them and were now facing each other.

**Yamcha VERSUS Jackie Chun**

"Go Lord Yamcha," Pu'ar cried out form within the crowd.

Yamcha gave his friend a wave, but couldn't help but notice the shape shifter was alone. Where had Bulma gotten off to?

There was no time to worry about that right now.

"Ladies and gentleman, Match Number 2 begins right now in a contest of youth versus experience," the announcer declared from he sidelines. "Fighters ready? Begin!"

Yamcha gave his opponent the once over. He had never heard of Jackie Chun but from his looks he didn't look like much: grey hair, thick grey beard, scrawny frame hidden by his baggy clothes. He just seemed like a frail old man. Despite that the former bandit was smart enough to know that anyone who got this far in the tournament was anything but frail.

"I'll attack and see how he counters," he thought to himself.

The short haired fighter charged the old man with a flying kick aimed for his head but Jackie simply casually avoided the blow. A string of attacks on Yamcha's part ended with the same result with Chun dodging with absolute ease.

"Oh?" the old man said with an amused look. "Having trouble?"

From the back area most of the fighters and gathered round the entrance to see the fight, including Ryoga. "Yamcha is being made to look like a fool," the fanged fighter said in disbelief.

Kuririn looked over at Goku. "Wasn't Yamcha supposed to be really strong?"

The spiky haired boy nodded. "He was even with Big Brother when they fought before."

Ranma gave Jackie Chun a strange look. "This guy…seems really familiar. I feel like I've seen this type of thing before."

Back in the ring Yamcha was beginning to feel uneasy. But of course if his attacks were not working he would have to go all out.

"Roga Fufu Ken!"

With added movement and grace Yamcha again launched at the older fighter. Jackie again dodged the attack but this time it was anything but casual; the old man leapt high above the attack landing gracefully some feet away. Though he actually made an effort to avoid the attack the statement was clear: Jackie Chun was faster than Yamcha.

"What?" was all Yamcha could say at the display.

"You're wide open!" Jackie declared as swiped at the teenage fighter. Though not connecting Yamcha was hit with a gust of wind that knocked clear out of bounds.

"Jackie Chun wins by way of ring out" the Announcer declared. "And with shockingly little effort!"

Jackie simply grinned and gave the crowd the "V for Victory" sign with his fingers.

"No way," Ranma mumbled as the crowd literally exploded in cheers.

Goku scratched his head. "That old man must be real tough."

Kuririn started panicking as he realized that he would fight the old man next.

* * *

Bulma was not watching the match. Upon their joint realization both she and Ukyo decided to move somewhere where they could talk. Neither seemed happy about the situation. Despite that there was an awkward silence between them. It was Ukyo who spoke first.

"Aren't you missing your boyfriend's match?" the chef asked.

"He's fighting an old man," Bulma replied. "I'm sure he'll win no problem."

Ukyo nodded. After a bit more silence she spoke again. "What exactly are you to Ranma? Since we've established he's apparently the guy you've been lusting after for the better part of the year I assume I know what your feelings are."

Bulma gritted her teeth at that. "Who do you think you are? I'm the one who should be asking you what you are to him?"

"His fiancée," Ukyo stated boldly. This was somewhat misrepresentation on her part, but it was still true regardless as to whether Ranma was told by his father or not. "He and I were promised to each other as children."

The teen genius paused at that. "Wait, that would mean you're from…wherever it is Ranma is from. That...other world."

Ukyo nodded. She was uncomfortable but she felt uncharacteristic courageousness. "His father spilled water from the Gate-Way Spring on me and the next thing I know I'm here. Ranma came back here to rescue me. We were going to use the Dragon Balls to go home but-"

"But they take a year to recharge," Bulma said somewhat sadly. It made sense now, why Ranma was here and more importantly why he hadn't come to see her earlier. He came for the sake of this girl.

Bulma must have less than subtle with her expression because Ukyo placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bulma. I don't think Ranchan even mentioned you while we were with Master Muten Roshi."

The heir to the Capsule Corporation could feel a great deal of embarrassment setting inside her. "I feel so stupid. Stupid stupid stupid!"

Ukyo nodded. "We all do dumb things over guys sometimes," she said in the understatement of the year. "Look, the fact is that our friends are over there and need some support. We can settle this thing later, don't you think?"

Bulma nodded, but truthfully wasn't eager to face any of her friends and, her (Possibly) future ex-boyfriend.

It would be a lie if Ukyo was acting completely selflessly, but frankly she was just trying to help her own cause with Ranma. Silently however she vowed she'd tell Ranma about the engagement and how she felt as soon as the tournament was over.

From a close by location, hidden to the untrained eye, Cologne frowned as the two girls separated back into the crowd. Her plan to have Ranma wed Shampoo was proving to be one obstacle after another. Although traditionally obstacles were for killing she would allow this to unfold, at least for the time being. Rash action could be disastrous, especially here.

After a year of planning she was not keen on simply giving up and going home

* * *

**Son Goku VERSUS Namu**

Ranma had missed a portion of the fight as he took a quick trip through the crowd to see if he could find any of his friends. He soon retuned hen he didn't easily find anyone. As he came up behind Kuririn who was eagerly watching the match he certainly noticed that Namu, the turban wearing man, was standing over a downed Goku. This was not the picture he was expecting.

"What the hell is that idiot doing?" Ranma asked, apparently unwilling to believe that Goku was capable of being on the losing end.

The former monk rolled his eyes. "The fool tried to knock Namu out of the ring with a spin attack but then he got dizzy and fell over."

The pig tailed fighter pitched the bridge of his nose. "If you lose because of something so stupid I'll never forgive you."

It was true. With Goku helpless and grounded Namu leapt high into the air coming down hard onto the boys chest with his forearms in a cross pattern. The impact was hard enough for the entire arena to hear and brutal enough that they all flinched. The count began as the turban wearing fighter seemed assured of his victory.

"Aw man," Kuririn sighed at the count reached five. "It's over! He's not getting up from that!"

Ranma crossed his eyes. "Get up, moron, you're not that hurt," he muttered as the count reached "seven."

"Eight!" the Announcer declared. "Nine!"

AT that point Goku leapt back to his feet, clutching his neck and chest. "Ow ow ow! That hurt, you jerk!"

The entire arena, save for Ranma, looked on in shock as the spiky haired youngster shook off the attack. "You almost had me worried there, kid," Ranma said under his breath. "Almost."

Namu reasoned by trying to repeat the attack but Goku proved that the same trick doesn't work twice on him: he jumped after him, passing him in the air two times (Once going up and once coming down). The young fighter proved to be his superior in speed and dexterity by forcing himself to the ground and kicking the falling Namu out of the bunch right before he hit the ground.

The Announcer quickly pointed at the boy with excitement. "Son Goku has won this very thrilling first round match!"

"GOKU!" Kuririn exclaimed as he rushed on the arena floor, tackling his training mate in celebration. "You won!"

"Yup!" Goku said in agreement as the two boys began laughing.

Ranma soon joined them, offering his hand to the younger Goku. "I saw that one coming."

The former monkey tailed boy smirked a cocky grin (Something he must have picked up somewhere), slapping the hand of his best friend. "Yeah, well you better make it to the next round too, Big Brother, 'cause I plan on showing you just how strong I am!"

Before Ranma could responded the trio was interrupted by the Announcer. "Excuse me fellows," he said, microphone in and. "But I notice that the three of you are all wearing the same uniform. Are you from the same school?" He offered Goku the mike in order to get a response but the boy just gave him a strange look.

"What's that thing?" Goku asked, pointing t the microphone. "Some kind of ice cream or something? It doesn't look very tasty."

Ranma punch the younger boy on the head as Kuririn looked away in embarrassment. "It's a microphone, Monkey Boy," the pig tailed youth said. "You talk into it and your voice gets louder."

"Hey cool!" Goku declared as he realized how it all worked. "Hello! Can you all hear me?"

The crowd laughed at the display, but both Ranma and Kuririn seemed to look like they wanted to crawl into holes. "Anyway," the former monk said, taking the mike. "We were all trained by the Muten Roshi."

"MUTEN ROSHI!" The Announcer's eyes would have bulge had he not been wearing sunglasses. "Who would have guessed that these lads were trained by the legendary Kame-sen'nin or that he was even still alive?"

From off stage Jackie Chun felt a deep sadness in his heart from that remark.

"In any case, the next match will be between Saotome Ranma and Hibiki Ryoga, so you two will need to clear the stage."

Goku and Kuririn nodded, though before left he looked over to Ranma. "Keep your head in the match. If you lose I won't forgive you."

Ranma gave a hesitant nod. "Right."

At ringside Pu'ar looked on at the display, uneasy about the boy Ranma for fairly obvious reason. He suddenly found himself joined by someone else he had mixed feelings at the movement.

"Hey Pu'ar," Bulma said with seemingly false confidence.

"Oh, so there you are," the cat-like creature said crossly.

Bulma tried t play this off. "Well I had to powder my nose. So anyway did Yamcha win his match?"

"Not that you care but no," Pu'ar replied. "Maybe he subconsciously felt the sting of betrayal and lost because of it."

Bulma gave a nervous laugh.

On the other side of the ring Lunch and Chi-Chi found themselves joined by Ukyo.

"Boss," Lunch exclaimed. "Did you sell a lot of okonomiyaki?"

"Some," Ukyo said, a bit uneasy in her speech.

Chi-Chi smiled at the chef. "You're just in time to see Ranma-san!"

**Hibiki Ryoga VERSUS Saotome Ranma**

Ryoga was escorted to the ring to the ring by Yamcha which lead to some laughter on the part of the crowd. The former bandit again looked into the crowd, this time seeing that Pu'ar had been joined by Bulma. "She was AWOL for my match," he thought to himself. "But when it's Saotome's match she's in the front row."

"Ryoga," he said to his one-time partner in crime. "It's up to you. Don't let him walk away from this match on his own power."

The eternally lost boy frowned at his "friend's" encouragement. "I would have done it anyway."

With that Ryoga was left face to face with his long time rival, no world changing distraction, no short term goals that needed to be addressed first, no interfering sensei. Just him and Ranma one on one they way he'd been dreaming of since their school days.

"I feel like it's almost not real," the lost boy declared to his hated enemy. "But I finally have you right where I want you. No more running away, Ranma. Today you will pay for all of my suffering, all of my humiliation! Today is the day I regain my honor, Saotome Ranma!"

The pig tailed looked over that Ryoga with a distant glance. "Huh? I'm sorry, did you say something Ryoga?"

The bandana clad fighter paused at that…and then began swelling with anger. "RANMA, YOU BASTARD!" Ryoga bellowed loud enough that every single person on the island could feel his rage in their chest. "PREPARE TO DIE!"

With that Ryoga charged at Ranma with speed the pig tailed boy had never seen him display before. The punch to the jaw came fast and hard on knocked the Saotome Heir off his feet.

"Hey," the Announcer yelled. "At least wait until I finish the introductions before you start fighting!"

Ranma quickly recovered, put rubbed his jaw a bit. "Okay, that was pretty okay. You've been working out, huh?"

"My sparring partners have been dinosaurs," Ryoga sneered. "My dojo has been the entire Earth!"

Ranma smiled at that. Maybe this could be a fight after all. He motioned for Ryoga to come at him which the lost boy happily complied. This time though the pig tailed boy was ready for him.

"Wo ai ni."

Shampoo's declaration of love suddenly out of nowhere began haunting Ranma's mind at exactly the wrong movement. The pig tailed by ate another of Ryoga's punches, this time nearly blacking out from the hit.

"You've underestimated me, as usual," Ryoga growled. "Is this all you've learned from the 'Invincible Old Master', Ranma?"

Ranma shook the cobwebs out his head, but was having a hard time focusing on the match. "Come on, Ranma, get it together," he said to himself.

"Come on Ranchan," Ukyo declared from the stage.

"Come on Ryoga-san," Lunch cried out. The glares from the other two girls made quickly made her change her tune. "I mean 'Let's go Ranma'," she said lamely.

From the other side of the ring Bulma looked on to her old friend. Even with the words of Ukyo weighing heavily on her she still couldn't help but cheer on her one time traveling companion. "Don't let that moron beat you, you jerk! Beat him to a pulp, Ranma!"

Pu'ar just shook his head. He didn't understand women.

Ranma didn't hear any of this. He was busy being pounded by a flurry of kicks and punches by the lost boy. Deep down as Ryoga bounced around him getting in a jab or a kick the pig tailed boy felt that this shouldn't be happening the way it was. This should not be as hard as it was playing out.

Sticking out his arm he managed to catch Ryoga as he was moving and quickly trapped him in a chokehold going quick enough that the lost boy literally didn't see him. Ranma tightened the grip, making more of a vice grip than a hold.

"I'm fine, I'm just happy you came. I've misjudged you, Ranchan. I'm sorry."

Ukyo's words this time. She said them to him soon after he found her on her return to this world.

His grip on Ryoga was loosened and he was rewarded for his lackluster performance with an elbow strike to his face. Letting go of the hold completely and grabbing his nose out of instinct Ranma slowly backed away from the lost, who smiled with grim determination.

"It's almost over" Ryoga claimed.

The Announcer was quick to add his two cents as well. "Ryoga seems to be in complete control of this match. Ranma's training mates seemed to outclass their opponents but he hasn't landed a single blow against the unstoppable man in yellow!"

"Damn it," Ranma said to himself. He was distracted. Ukyo, Shampoo, the Old Ghoul, everything that shouldn't be on his mind was currently running rampant in it. Ryoga was practically dancing through this match. Wasn't he supposed to be the best of his generation? Wasn't that why his father took him on the training voyage in the first place? Wasn't that why he trained with the Turtle Hermit?

Why in the hell was he even here on this world if he was going to lose definitively to Ryoga in front of so many witnesses.

"One more blow, Ranma!" Ryoga yelled as he began another mad dash towards Ranma. "You're finished!"

"My wish was pretty dumb, right? You're the one who really needs it. A boyfriend isn't as important as what you need. I don't know if there's any way for you to get back to your world. So...just go."

Bulma's final words to him, right before Goku asked Shenlong to send him back to his world. He remembered that moment clearly for some reason. He had been with Bulma for weeks but he never saw her more sincere and vulnerable than that point. He wanted to tell her that maybe he could stay on that world after all, if only for a little while longer. He never got that chance as he was whisked away from the world by the magical powers of the Dragon Balls. It was the, at this moment, Saotome Ranma came to an understanding with himself.

Ryoga, along with all the other spectators, were shocked by Ranma catching the lost boy's fist with his own with seemingly all the ease in the world.

"What the? Was all Ryoga could muster.

"I remember," Ranma mumbled, looking down at his feet rather than at his opponent.

The bandana clad fighter growled, barely able to contain his anger and hatred. "You remember what?"

In another surprise Ryoga found himself pushed away with little effort on the part of his opponent but with enough force that it would have crushed a lesser man. Knocked several feet away the fanged boy landed hard on his back. Getting up he found a different Ranma staring him down.

"I remember why I came back here," Ranma said, giving Ryoga an almost emotionless glare. "Sorry Ryoga, but I'm not gonna hold back anymore!"

"Hold back?" Ryoga said as he picked himself up. "You're exaggerating your own strength, Ranma."

The response was a kick to his back from Ranma who faster than he could see had managed to get behind him midsentence and attack his blindside, despite starting out several feet away. Ryoga quickly got back up into a ready stance, angered to see that Ranma was simply standing there. No stance, no strategy, just him standing there…mocking him.

"Damn you, Ranma!" Ryoga said as he launched a series of strikes against the pig tailed fighter. His opponent was quick enough to match every blow with a block.

"Ladies and gentlemen it seems Ranma may have been playing possum this entire fight," the Announcer declared. "Contestant Hibiki seems unable to penetrate his guard now!"

Ryoga was again kicked down by a blow he couldn't see. With Ranma standing calmly over him the lost boy's temper was barely being held in check. "How can this be? How can the gap between us be this wide?"

"You may have been training, Ryoga," Ranma explained, calmly. "Hell, you may have been training the hardest you ever had. But the fact is the Old Freak's training paid off. I'm just not on your level anymore."

"LIKE HELL!" Ryoga screamed as he made one last ditch effort to attack his long time foe. The result was embarrassing: Ranma struck with an open palm strike with such force that it knocked Ryoga clear out of the ring into the brick barrier that separated them front he crowd. It was over.

"Saotome Ranma wins by ring-out!" The announcer declared. "What a turnaround!"

The crowd went nuts at this. Such a display was both unexpected and entertainment. In all the excitement Ranma scanned the crowd until he saw a familiar blue-green haired girl in the front row. Though the crowd was too loud for an exchange of words the two gave each other smiles, something they rarely ever did. It said everything.

"I knew you could beat him, you dumb jock," Bulma said, though it went unheard.

Ryoga, however, was uninterested in all this fanfare. He climbed back into the ring, limping, but visibly angry. "How dare you, Saotome!"

Ranma, now seeming in higher spirits than in the fight, simply shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, you wanted to finish our fight and now it's finished. You got nothing to complain about."

Ryoga paused as he considered that statement. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist; true words or not he still had his pride. "You handled me like a child! I can't stand for this. I swear, in front of all these people, that I will surpass you! I'll do anything to see you defeated, even if I had to sell my soul to the devil!"

With that the wounded lost boy turned his back on his eternal rival and leapt from the ring to deep within the crowd and soon disappeared. It was here that Ranma realized just how full of rage Ryoga's truly was. He had never taken it seriously but the fanged fighter was like the personification of anger. And now, faced with the cold hard fact that he was no match for Ranma, the boy had just left for God knows where for God knows how long.

For the first time Ranma actually worried what Ryoga would do the next time they met.

To be continued…

Preview of next chapter

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. Ever since I met Goku I think we've all known this would happen sooner or later. For the first time I'm taking on my little buddy in a do or die no hold barred fight!

Goku: I'm so excited I can't stand it. I won't hold anything back, Big Bro! Here I come!

Ranma: You're really worked up over this, huh?

Goku: You bet! You're the strongest guy I've ever gotten to fight! This'll be fun!

Ranma: I gotta beat Goku to get to the finals and I _should_ concentrate on just doing that but there's something weird about that Jackie Chun guy. Hey wait a second, that guy is…Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Tournament of Dreams Part Three: Goku VS. Ranma!"

Jackie: Even if you defeat Son Goku I cannot allow you to win this tournament, Ranma.

**Author's Note:**

Two updates within one month? That's a nice change of pace. This may have been the longest chapter I've ever written for this story. And let me tell you I hate writing chapters this long for "Ranma and the Monkey King". The last few chapters have all been pretty lengthy and I miss the days of simple seven or eight page chapters. Oh well, maybe after this storyline.

Anyway, I really like Ukyo and she's one of my favorite Ranma ½ characters but the girl could be downright devious with her schemes to nab Ranma from Akane, so I think it's pretty in character for her to use the engagement to try to scare Bulma away from her fiancé as she's capable of far worse. Speaking of Bulma she's a bit OOC at this point, but I believe she may have fundamentally changed from her canon persona due to interference on the part of Ranma. That's how I justify it at least, and that's good enough for now. Hopefully we'll explore more of Bulma's character once the tournament is over.


	13. Tournament of Dreams pt3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (Or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me, at least for this. All those other felonies are fair game, I suppose.

**The Story Thus Far: **Saotome Ranma came to the World of Dragon Balls in a training accident and sought the power of Shenlong, the Dragon God, to return home. After meeting new friends and rivals and having several adventures he was wished back home, but soon returned to rescue his friend Kuonji Ukyo who was banished to the other world by his father. Vowing to remain here from now on he joined his best friend Son Goku to train under the tutelage of the Muten Roshi with the goal of winning the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai, a proverbial tournament of dreams, and proving that he is what he's always claimed he was: the best!

**Last Chapter: **The Amazons Cologne and Shampoo appeared to Ranma vowing to bring him with them once the tournament ended. Combined with the stress of his relationships with Ukyo and Bulma the pig tailed boy was distracted during the first round. While Kuririn and Goku made it to the next round easily Ranma struggled to find his footing in his long awaited battle with Ryoga. In the end the lost boy, beaten and humiliated by a motivated Ranma, swore he'd surpass him by any means necessary.

**Chapter 13**

**The Tournament of Dreams Part Three:**

**Goku VS. Ranma!**

The crowd roared with delight, their praise aimed solely at Saotome Ranma. This young man had turned a one sided battle into an overwhelming victory for himself in what had been one of the more exciting fight in the tournament so far. Despite his ego normally reveling in such attention the pig tailed boy was uneasy due to the words of Ryoga.

"You handled me like a child! I can't stand for this. I swear, in front of all these people, that I will surpass you! I'll do anything to see you defeated, even if I had to sell my soul to the devil!"

There was such loathing in his voice that it actually chilled Ranma. How far would Ryoga actually take this? How far was he even able to? His thoughts would soon be interrupted by his training mates Goku and Kuririn rushing and dog piling him in celebration of his win.

"You did it, Ranma!" Kuririn happily announced.

"Yeah," Ranma responded somewhat hesitantly. "I did it."

From the crowd Ukyo and Chi-Chi were firmly apart of the crowd's admiration for the victorious Ranma. It was the younger girl, however, who noticed something missing. "Where's Lunch?" she asked of the okonomiyaki chef.

The brown haired teenager stopped her applauding to look around. Indeed Lunch, who had been there with them just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. "That's weird."

As a matter of fact Lunch was one of the few in the crowd not cheering wildly for Saotome Ranma. In fact she was fighting her way through the crowd, trying her best to follow where she thought she saw Ryoga heading. She knew, despite his outward appearance, that he was a good man. She could tell the moment they dragged his unconscious form back to Kame House months ago. However his frustration was clearly eating at him and the crowd fawning all over his hated rival could only be fueling the flame. She had to reach him; she had to let him know that he wasn't alone, that there was someone out there who cared what happened to him.

"Ryoga-san!" she cried as she tore herself out of the crowd, scanning everywhere for the wayward fighter. Her heart fluttered as his familiar figure stood mere meters way, his back turned away from the masses in shame. "Ryoga-san!" she called out again and she raced towards him as fast as her small frame could muster. She would tell him of her feelings and she would do her best to be there for him. He just needed to turn around…

And that's when a strain of her blue hair tickled her nose.

"Achoo!"

Ryoga turned to face the stranger calling out to him. It was a girl, a lovely blonde one though her expression seemed to bit more…hostile than he expected. "Um, hello?" he said, unsure of the situation.

Lunch gave the lost boy a dirty look. "What the hell are you looking at, jerk? You got a problem?"

The bandanna clad fighter sighed. Typical, he thought to himself. Obviously it'd be too good to be true for a woman to be calling out to him. He steeled himself. The days of idle fantasizing were over. He would commit himself to his enemy's destruction and nothing else. He turned away from the angry, though oddly familiar girl. "It's nothing. Farewell."

And with that Ryoga wandered off in a random direction. Eventually he was out of view leaving Lunch alone and confused. "I wonder who that guy was," she contemplated. "Kinda cute, I guess."

Back in the arena proper the turtle students finally ceased their celebration as the sudden realization of Kuririn's impending match took hold. Sure enough the ring announcer confirmed this by announcing the first match in the semi-finals.

"Ladies and gentlemen we shall move right along in this tournament into the semi-finals," the announcer declared into his microphone. "You have witnessed the students of the legendary Muten Roshi decimate the competition, but how will young Kuririn fare against a martial artist of such superb skill as Jackie Chun?" He quickly covered the mic up and gave the other two students an annoyed glare. "C'mon kids, get off the stage."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever," he casually said as he and Goku made their way towards the back area. The pig tailed boy turned to give Kuririn a "thumbs-up" and a cocky smirk. "Go get 'em, Cueball."

Kuririn gave a nervous wave as he was not particularly positive about his chances in this fight.

As Ranma and Goku made their way to the back Jackie Chun emerged from that very area. As they passed each other the pig tailed fighter couldn't help but stare at the seemingly nonchalant old man. He hadn't really paid that much attention, save his surprise that he defeated Yamcha so easily, but now that he was right in front of him the otherworldly youth was immediately took notice. He was…familiar. Hauntingly so, in fact. Despite the young man staring at him so intently the bearded old man, for his part, didn't even make eye contact.

Once the stage was clear of non-participants Jackie started looking directly to the announcer, who started feeling awkward after it went on longer than a few seconds. "Er…can I help you, Mr. Chun?"

"Ahem" the old man said, trying to sound as passive as possible. "Weren't you interested in interviewing me?"

"Um…no?" was the timid response. Chun, giving the announcer a dirty look, snatched the mic from his hand. After a quick test to the device he began bellowing "Hey everybody! My name is Jackie and I like to party!" The old man then proceeded to dance and sing all around the ring.

From his spot backstage Ranma couldn't help but feel sort of embarrassed over this display (Also not helping matters was that Goku had apparently gone back out to join the old man's antics acting as some sort of back-up dancer). It was hard to watch Chun make such a fool of himself.

"It seems congratulations are in order, Saotome," a familiar voice from behind muttered, grabbing Ranma's attention. It was, of course, Yamcha although the former bandit didn't look particular happy for the otherworldly martial artist. He was stoic, or at least trying to look that way, but somewhat disgruntled. "I guess your training with the Invincible Old Master put you on a higher level after all."

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah, even I'm a little surprised. I mean, I was pretty much the best beforehand but now I'm a monster. It's like I've perfected perfection, you know what I mean?" His big smirk was anything but humble.

Yamcha rolled his eyes at that. "Of course you are." He paused for a bit. "Look Saotome, you might want to avoid underestimating Jackie Chun," he said in a warning tone. "He handled me far more easily than you did Ryoga. He may be a match for your new strength."

The former bandit turned to leave but stopped himself, flashing Ranma a knowing smile. "You would know better than I, of course, but he may even be the Muten Roshi in disguise."

Ranma eyes widened at that. It was true that the old man was familiar and that he did resemble his master but he hadn't even thought of the possibility of them being one in the same simply because, frankly, it made no sense to him. Why would Kame-Sen'nin enter this tournament, especially under a false name? What would he possibly have to gain? The prize money? Sure he wouldn't put it past the old letch to be a cash guzzling coot on top of a being a horrifying pervert, but technically he had never seen the hermit put too much effort into such a habit. Now if the prize was a date with a beautiful woman he'd be surprised if his master _didn't_ sign up. Was it to further spread him own legend? Maybe, but since he was in disguise it would do nothing to enhance, or even maintain, his own legacy. Again, he wouldn't assume the old freak was above inflating his ego by being named a martial arts champion again but he technically had never seen him display such character traits.

It was possible that Kame-Sen'nin could be Jackie Chun, but Ranma wasn't willing to put money on it just yet.

"Also," Yamcha added, not really paying attention to Ranma's brainstorming. "I think that since I'm out of the tournament I'll gather Bulma and Pu'ar and head back to West City. You kno, the place where she and I live together. Because we're in a relationship. A very serious relationship."

This, more so than with Jackie Chun, caught Ranma off-guard. "Um, you're going to see Bulma right now?"

Yamcha nodded. "What's the point in sticking around now that I'm out of the bracket? I'm sure Bulma is eager to get back to the city. You know how she is." He then gave an evil smile. "Actually, I guess you don't know how she is seeing as you only knew her for a month before you left her to go wherever home was supposed to be."

Ranma, for his part, had stopped listening to Yamcha after he said he was going to talk to Bulma. "Sure, fine, great, hey there's a fight going on, I'm gonna watch, bye" he spat out as he headed toward the wall separating the back area from the ring to get a better look.

Yamcha had said all those things to make his one-time rival jealous, but it seems that it had a stranger effect than he was expecting. Shrugging his shoulders the former bandit simply left.

**Kuririn VERSUS Jackie Chun**

"What I miss?" Ranma asked Goku, who was glued to the fight.

"That old guy is tough," the younger boy said. "Kuririn's not keeping up with him all that great."

Sure enough Kuririn was on the receiving end of Chun's superior speed. Whenever the former monk looked like he was about to gain a bit of traction he completely failed to see one of the old man's attacks and was knocked off his feet. This repeated several times making it seem that, though seemingly not as completely in over his head as Yamcha was, the gap in skill between the two fighters was apparent.

Ranma narrowed his eyes. If this man truly was the Turtle Hermit in disguise watching him fight might help make it clearer.

Several more exchanges occurred, one of which having moved so fast that only a select few could even make out the details, but every time one occurred it was Jackie Chun who came out the clear victor. Finally, in a last ditch effort, Kuririn unleashed a surprising secret weapon.

"Alright, if I can't beat you in a straight up fight then I'll just have to fight you with intelligence," Kuririn announced. "Take this!" With that he removed a piece of cloth from his dogi and tossed it gently in the center of the ring. It was a pair of women's underwear.

"Oooh, panties!" Chun exclaimed as he excitedly ran towards the unmentionables. His guard now down the old man was unprepared for a mighty kick from his opponent. The blow knocked the old man right off his feet sending him flying out of the arena, surely giving Kuririn the ring-out victory.

"Unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer declared. "While Jackie Chun had the clear advantage over contestant Kuririn it seems that he has met defeat in the most embarrassing and undistinguished way imaginable!"

"Huh," Ranma muttered to himself. "The old freak may be a pervert but even he wouldn't fall for a trick like that. I guess it ain't him after all"

Before anyone had a chance to officially recognize Kuririn as the winner the sound of an explosion caused audience and participant alike to turn toward where Jackie had gone flying. Sure enough the old man was rocketing back into the area using a stream of blue as propulsion. Chun managed to land right back in the ring, dusted himself off, and gave a "V" to the crowd.

While most of the audience members were shocked by the display due to never having seen is such a feat several key people were even more surprised because they _had _seen it before.

"That was the Kamehameha, right?" Goku asked of Ranma from backstage.

Ranma simply nodded but was at a loss for words. This old man knew how to do the Turtle Hermit's signature attack. The chances of an aged martial arts master who has the same build and personality traits of his master while also armed with knowledge of that particular move just happening to sign up for this specific tournament while the master in question just so happened to be MIA were not very good.

"I can't believe what we've just seen, folks," the announcer declared over the shock murmurs of the capacity crowd. "It would seem that Jackie Chun has used the legendary Kamehameha to save himself from a ring-out loss! Who would have thought he had mastered the Muten Roshi's famed maneuver?"

"Fine then," a desperate Kuririn declared. "I guess I'll just have to attack with everything I have!" With the short fighter rushed his opponent. From the sideline both Ranma and Goku tried t call out to him, telling him this was not a good strategy, but their cries went unheard. As he charged the old man he the bald youngster found himself being struck from behind; a victim of Chun's superior speed. The boy simply collapsed face first to the ground. As the announcer began making the ten count the older fighter seemingly lost interest in the situation.

"You needn't bother with that," Chun said the announcer boldly. "He won't be getting up for a while."

Indeed Kuririn failed to even move, let alone stand, in time to make the ten count.

"Jackie Chun wins via KO! He has advanced to the finals!"

From the sidelines Ranma, ignoring the roars of the crowd, was unable to take is eyes off the old man in the ring. He wasn't sure if Yamcha had been serious when he suggested this man was his master or if he was just making a joke, but the fact was that a lot of the pieces fit. Jackie Chun was an elderly martial arts master who was an embarrassing pervert who had also mastered the Kamehameha. He had hair, while the Turtle Hermit was bald, but a well fastened wig could fix that. The real question was the "why". As Chun made his way back to the area the pig tailed boy decide that he would ask him that very question.

Back in the crowd Bulma, after more or less ignoring the last fight having spent the time deep in contemplation, had reached a silent conclusion. She turned to Pu'ar who was standing on the edge of the wall separating the audience from the fighting area. The little cat seemed intent on giving h the cold shoulder, but at this point the teen genius would need his full attention. "Hey Pu'ar," she cooed sweetly.

"Hmph," was the reply as the shapeshifting cat didn't even bother to look her way.

"Look Pu'ar," Bulma continued. "I know you're upset with me and you probably have every right to be. What I did was stupid and unfair to your best friend. I'm sorry it happened and if I could I would have done things differently, but the fact is what's done is done."

Pu'ar gave the girl a peek. She seemed fairly sincere, which was out of character for the usually suspiciously motivated girl.

"That said I think that Yamcha and I will need to have a long talk about this when it's all said and down, but until then I'm going to have to ask you to keep your damn trap shut."

The floating cat was taken aback by this. Turning fully to the girl he repaid "Are you joking? After you stabbed Lord Yamcha in the back you expect me to stay quiet about it?"

Bulma gave a sweet smile…right before she grabbed his ears tightly. "I'm saying I think he should hear it from me first is all. And if he heard it from someone else, like say 'you' for example, I might find myself trying to re-define the meaning of kitty litter."

"When you put it that way," Pu'ar spat out through the pain. "It does seem appropriate for you to talk to him first."

Bulma released the talking cat and smiled. Though, in all honesty she wasn't sure what exactly she should say to Yamcha once the moment came, just that she _had_ to talk to him about their relationship.

And of course she needed to talk to Ranma as well.

Back in the competitor area the martial artists who were still present were given a brief break until the next match. After consoling Kuririn on his loss Goku had gone off to prepare to for his fight with Ranma. For his part the former Saotome Heir kept close to Jackie Chun, waiting for an opportunity to question him alone.

"Did you want something, lad?" Jackie asked after several minutes of Ranma creeping round behind him with the subtlety of an elephant.

Apparently unaware of how foolish he may have looked Ranma simply gave the old man a sly smirk. "Yeah old man, I do. I'm pretty sure you're the turtle guy."

Jackie rolled his eyes. "I assume by 'turtle guy' you men the 'Muten Roshi.' Sorry to disappoint you, youngster, but you're mistaken."

"Oh yeah," Ranma said. "You mean to tell me it's a coincidence that another geezer shows up and knows how to do the Kamehameha? I ain't an idiot, Old Freak."

"Well, if I'm the Muten Roshi then how do you explain," the age fighter pointed to the stands dramatically. "HIM!"

Indeed in the crowd was a bald man with a white beard and sunglasses, trademarks of Kame-Sen'nin.

The pig tailed fighter gave the figure a good long look before replying "I'm pretty sure that's that Namu guy wearing sunglasses and a phony beard. Unless the old letch got a tan in the last couple of hours and went to whatever store Namu buys his clothes."

Chun growled at that. "I don't have time for your accusations. I need to mentally prepare myself for my next match, something you should be doing as well."

"Yeah maybe you're right," Ranma remarked lazily. "Now that I think about it there's no way you could be the Old Freak. You seem competent. The turtle lover is a perverted, senile old coot who thinks he's wise but really he's just a nutty letch."

WHAM!

"How dare you talk to your master that way!" Chun yelled waving the familiar cane of Kame-Sen'nin (Which Ranma could swear wasn't there before) after striking the pig tailed boy in the head.

"Ha!" Ranma yelled as he rubbed the sore spot on his head Chun just struck. "You ARE the Turtle Hermit! I'd know that attack anywhere!"

Chun cursed under his breath. Ranma was brighter than he let on. Shaking off the feeling of stress he tossed aside the walking stick and calmed down. "Well regardless you have no real proof that I am your master, merely strong suspicion."

"Whatever" Ranma shrugged, seemingly really proud of hismelf. "But what I wanna know is why the hell would you enter the tournament in the first place? You looking to make us look bad or something?"

Jackie Chun frowned deeply, but otherwise had a chillingly calm tone as he said "If I were the Muten Roshi, and remember I'm not admitting to being the Muten Roshi, I would probably have a specific agenda." He eyes met Ranma's and the pig tailed boy felt a ping of dire seriousness that his master so rarely displayed. "I would have entered the tournament in order to ensure a final lesson for my students."

Ranma's eyes narrowed. "What lesson? What are you talking about?"

Before Chun could explain the booming voice of the announcer interrupted their conversation from the overhead speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen we're now ready to continue the Semi-Final Round. Will Contestant Son Goku and Contestant Saotome Ranma please report to the ring?"

Chun smirked, although it was fairly sinister looking. "Well I guess if you want to find out you'll have to meet me in the finals."

The teenage fighter clenched his fist. No doubt about it, this was Kame-Sen'nin; who else could annoy him so much? "Fine, we'll do it your way Old Freak. I'll see you in the final round."

As Ranma turned his back on his supposed master he heard the old man say one final thing. "Even if you beat Goku," the old man explained in his continuing uncharacteristic seriousness. "I cannot allow you to win this tournament."

As best he could Ranma ignored him.

Back in the crowd Yamcha had finally made his way toward where he had seen Pu'ar and Bulma. Most of the crowd recognized him and let him pass well enough but even then a number of them seemed intent on reminding him of his unfortunate defeat. While it was true he had lost to a better opponent and thus shouldn't be bitter he found himself extremely annoyed over not being able to actually fight Ranma. Then again seeing as his rival had become so much stronger he doubted he'd last as long than Ryoga did.

And it disgusted him.

"Hey guys," the former bandit called out as he reached his destination. It was clear that Bulma at least was surprised to see him as she looked suddenly paler than he was used to.

"Yamcha," Bulma yelped. She quickly composed herself, but not before giving Pu'ar a warning look. "I thought you were in the fighter area."

"I figured I'd find you since I was out of the tournament," he explained. "I was hoping we could leave and beat the crowd home."

The teen genius gave her boyfriend an odd look. "Leave? But Ranma's coming up next." She quickly added "And Goku. Goku is coming up next is what I meant. And also that Ranma guy who I barely know. Heh."

If the similarly strange and nervous speech patterns of Bulma and Ranma earlier gave Yamcha any insight he didn't say anything. Instead he became visibly annoyed. "Oh yeah? Ranma's coming up next and you couldn't possibly miss his fight, right? Not like me. When it's my fight apparently it fine to be elsewhere." He looked away, clearly unable to keep from venting his frustration. "But I guess I'm not that important. I'm just the boyfriend after all."

Bulma, known for her pride, became defensive at that. "I met up with someone and lost track of the time. I _assumed_ you could handle a little old man."

Yamcha growled at that. "He wasn't just a 'little old man'!" He paused, noticing that Goku and Ranma were now standing on stage. "But I suppose if we're sticking around you'll soon see."

**Saotome Ranma VERSUS Son Goku**

Both Ranma and his self-proclaimed brother were now facing each other down in the ring. Their matching uniforms added to the poetry of this fight, which was not lost on the announcer.

"And now our last Semi-Final Match is about to begin," he declared. "Two young men, who have obviously diligently trained under the Invincible Old Master, will battle to settle who among them is the strongest disciple!"

Ranma couldn't' help but notice the huge grin on his friend's face. In fact was he…quivering? "You alright there, Goku?"

The spiky haired boy nodded excitedly. "I just really happy I'm gonna get to fight you, Big Brother," he said with enthusiasm that Ranma found somewhat disturbing. "You're gonna the strongest guy I ever fought!"

"Huh," Ranma said to himself. "I guess you got a high opinion of me after all. Not that I could blame you…"

"Fighters ready? BEGIN!"

As soon as the Announcer declared the fight started Goku rushed the older boy at a speed many in the audience couldn't follow. The spiky haired youth gave a flurry of blows that Ranma was forced to block rather than dodge due to their quickness. Though it seemed that the pig tailed boy was keeping up with his opponent he apparently failed to see the incoming kick. The blow landed right his Ranma's face sending the teenager flying across the ring. Luckily he, to the astonishment of the crowd, managed to turn mid-air forcing himself to land on his feet.

But this left him little time to prepare for Goku's second wave. As soon as he was upright he caught the shorter boy coming at him with a flying kick that should have been far too fast for a normal human to react, let alone counter. However Ranma, moving at a high speed himself, literally caught Goku's leading leg snatching the boy out of the air. Trapped the boy found himself being swung around in several rotations before be thrown back above the ring. Ranma was about to follow him, as mid-air combat was a specialty of the Anything Goes style, but stopped when he saw that Goku was not only in control after being tossed but he was facing down and gathering chi in his hands.

"Ka! Me! Ha! Me!"

"Aw crap," Ranma yelled in response as his former traveling companion's hands began brightly glowing.

"HA!"

The blue chi blast just bare missed its mark as Ranma rolled out of the way at the last second. The blast was not as powerful as it could have been though; apparently power was sacrificed for speed in this instance.

As Goku landed back in the ring and Ranma hoped back to his feet the crowd, the Announcer included, looked on in stunned silence. And then they exploded! This small exchange, despite being so short and hard to follow, had been the most exciting thing many of them had ever seen in their lives.

"I-I'm not entirely sure what we just saw here, folks," the announcer admitted. "But it looks as though these two young men have taken this tournament to another level!"

From the sidelines Jackie Chun and Kuririn looked on. The former monk was shocked. He was sure he wasn't a match for either of his two training mates but even he had underestimated the gap between them. For his part Chun merely smiled. "I suppose you two took the training seriously after all," he muttered under his breath.

Ranma dusted the dirt from his dogi and spit a bit of blood out of his mouth, not wearing his usual smirk. He wasn't feeling particularly cocky after that. "I guess you're going all out, huh Monkey Boy?"

Goku gave his friend a questioning, yet innocent look. "Huh? What do you mean? I was just playing around?"

The pig tailed boy raised an eyebrow at that. "Wait, what?"

Before he could fully process what Goku said Ranma found himself being struck by a charging elbow to his chest. The shorter boy backed away after striking the blow and the pig tailed fighter fell to one knee. Easily that one attack was more impactful than anything Ryoga had hit him with earlier.

"And just like that one mighty blow has shifted the tone of this fight!" The announcer declared.

Ranma picked himself as best he could, but as he looked over at Goku's smiling face he realized an important fact that he had been ignoring up till this point. In the past Goku had either been his equal or slightly edged him out when it came to physical strength but agility, speed and grace had always been the teen's great assets. However now not only had Goku seemingly greatly widened the gap in sheer power between them but had also significantly improved his speed.

From the sides Jackie Chun gave an emotionless, yet contemplative look. "Skill was once your weapon," he thought to himself. "But thanks to the training that advantage is no longer a viable one."

Ranma, now standing, looked on facing the shorter Goku. The younger fighter was in a readied stance, waiting for his opponent to attack. His pride wounded and his ego suffering the pig tile boy closed his eyes tightly then released them and pointed directly at Goku. "I guess you've gotten a little better, Goku, but that just means I'll have to stop taking it easy!"

"That's the way I like it!" Goku declared.

"You say that now. But I've been secretly perfecting moves just to defeat _you_, Goku!" Smirking the smile he lacked earlier Ranma gave his opponent the "thumbs down" before he starting towards him. "Behold! My All-New Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts Desperation Moves!

"#1: Bacon Punch!"

"Bacon! Where?" Goku declared completely lowering his guard at thought of sizzling meaty goodness (And who could blame him, really?). As such he was struck by a devastating blow from Ranma's fist that even the Announcer could feel from ringside.

Ranma didn't stop there; he positioned his elbow. "Desperation Move #2: Donut Crush!"

Despite the pain coursing through his head Goku licked his lips. "Man, I love donu-ugh!" The elbow strike handed on top if his head, possibly destroying what little brain cells he possessed to begin with.

"That's dirty!" Kuririn yelled from the sidelines, shocked at the tactic Ranma was using.

"There's no such thing in a fight," Jackie Chun corrected. "In fact the lad is showing a brilliant strategy."

Kuririn gave the old man a annoyed look. "What are you talking about? He's just tricking Goku into thinking he's getting food. That doesn't seem all that smart to me."

"Ranma has realized the painful truth," Chun continued. "That Son Goku has probably surpassed him. Hence why he hasn't directly engaged him yet. But, even though he knows he may well lose a straight confrontation, he hasn't wavered and instead is using the last real advantage he has over Goku.

"No matter how strong Goku becomes Ranma will always be smarter and much more devious than he could ever be!"

Kuririn narrowed his eyes out of embarrassment. "I…don't think that's a compliment."

"Contestant Goku is groggy, folks," the announcer reminded us. "Can Ranma take advantage?"

Ranma backed away from Goku bit, still beaming with either confidence or the illusion of confidence. "Time to finish you off, kid!" He took in a deep breath before screaming "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT BEHIND YOU? "

"Where?" Goku asked as he turned his head away from his opponent.

"#3: BAKA UPPERCUT!"

Gathering the chi in his body into a single point Ranma struck Goku with a rising uppercut that hit hard and fast. The angle which he connected, in conjunction with its impossible force, lifted Goku out into the stands similar to Jackie Chun's near loss earlier.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like Contestant Ranma is about to win this match by ring-out," the announcer declared. "This young man may look like normal teenager but he is clearly sinister, underhanded and conniving to have won by such means!"

"Hey shut up, jerk" Ranma said, lamely.

Despite appearances however Goku wasn't out yet. Against all odds Goku returned by means of…tail helicopter? Indeed s improbable as it seemed at that exact moment that Ranma struck him the young boy's tail had grown back and he instinctively used it as a way to get back into the ring. Landing where he started the boy begin bouncing around happily. "Woohoo! My tail's back! I missed you, buddy!"

Ranma's mouth was wide open from this display. The sheer odds against any of that stuff happening had to have been huge! While most of the crowd was in a similar state as the teenager Bulma, Yamcha and Pu'ar were giving each other extremely worried glance and were babbling about when the next full moon was.

Rotating his right arm Goku showed that his smile hadn't yet left his face. "Alright, you got me a few times, Big Brother, but that stuff about food won't work on me again! Ha!" With that the boy jumped at his best friend, spinning mid-air and catching Ranma first with a tail whip, then a kick that knocked him off his feet. Before his opponent even hit the ground from that attack the newly re-tailed Goku hope above him and slammed him down to the concrete ring with a force superior to the attacks he himself had just received. Ranma hit the pavement so hard he literally shattered it!

"With impossible luck on his side Son Goku has turned this battle around," the announcer declared. He then began the 10 count, but fortunately for Ranma he managed to get up by the count of six.

"Damn it," Ranma said as he forced himself to stand up. The crowd stood in awe at this as normal boys shouldn't have been capable of dealing out or taking the amount of damage being displayed in this contest. The fact that either boy was still able to walk was shocking.

"Man, I thought I had you," Goku said looking on. "But I think I got you this time, Big Brother!"

"I can't believe you grew your freaking tail back," Ranma cursed. "What the hell are you anyway?"

The boy blinked. "Huh? I'm a Goku" he answered.

"Right, of course you are," his "brother" replied. The fact was that Goku was no ordinary boy, but Ranma had always known that. He just never wound up on the receiving end of it before. It hurt to admit this but it looked like he had no chance of beating the kid the way things were going. He managed to hit the boy with his heaviest blows but even after that it looked like the boy had plenty of steam left. At best he could fight a long drawn out back and forth but he was sure that favored Goku with his proven higher stamina.

There was one last resort, but he hesitated in using it. Some time ago he saw a martial art technique that had intrigued him. In a move motivated equal parts curiosity _and_ desire to be able to counter it he conceptualized his own version of it and, after a while, a higher quality version of it. The problem was that, aside from the basics of maneuver, he was unable to fully perfect the move since the heavy turtle shell he was forced to wear the last year or so made it impossible. So really it was untested and possibly dangerous.

"To hell with it," the pig tailed boy said to himself. "We'll call it a field test." With that he took a stance and began concentrating his breath.

From the stands Yamcha instantly recognized that familiar, but noticeably different, stance. "Wait a second. That's-"

"Roga Hakko Ken!"

Faster than anything that had been seen in the tournament so far Ranma charged at Goku, first striking with on stunning blow and then following up with a series a smaller jab strikes that even Jackie Chun was having problems keeping up with."

"He stole my move," Yamcha bellowed. "That bastard stole my signature move!"

The strikes continued and even the mighty Son Goku was starting to succumb to them. The attacks suddenly stopped and on instinct the kid raised his arms as a guard, but this did not stop Ranma.

The pig tailed by pulled his arms back before striking the younger boy with a double open palm strike greatly enhanced by his own chi. "Saotome Ranma…"

The blow was massive. It sent Goku flying straight from out of the ring into the brick guard rail separating the crowd and the ring with such force that he literally bounced off it back towards Ranma. However the older boy had been counting on this. As the monkey tailed youth came at him he responded with one single powerful punch sending Goku back out to crowd.

"NEVER LOSES A FIGHT!"

Goku crashed back at the brick wall this time falling face first on the grass.

"Ring out! Saotome Ranma has defeated Son Goku by ring out and advances to the finals!"

This, by far, being the most exciting bout the crowd literally went insane with praise drowning out any other relative information the announcer tried to convey. From his spot in the front row, though his girlfriend was cheering for Ranma, Yamcha stood as the lone silent voice in the sea of humanity.

"Damn you, Saotome," he muttered angrily. "You actually improved on the Wolf Fang Fist! How did you do it?"

Back in the ring Ranma felt a very serious pain in his right hand. Looking over at it he knew at once that it was broken. It quickly dawned on him that he had broken his hand after hitting it off of Goku's steel like physique with such force. That was a scary thought.

"Well, I guess I lost," he heard a cheerful voice from outside the ring's bounds say. Goku, who he had just thrown everything at, was already back on his feet. Had he not been knocked out of the ring and simply knocked off his feet he would have made the ten count. Had this been a real fight as opposed to a tournament style match with an out-of-bounds rule Ranma wouldn't have won this fight and Goku's smiling face made it all the more obvious.

"What would I have had to do to beat you?" he silently asked as all the confidence leaked from his body.

And then it all came rushing back. "Aw well, I would have just beaten you some other way," he declared, laughing. Goku joined in despite not knowing what was so funny.

Kuririn rushed back into the ring to join his training mates leaving Jackie Chun alone in the back area. He smiled to himself. "Well done, lad," he said. "You managed to defeat a superior opponent."

"Indeed, Son-in-Law is very impressive" cackled a surprising withered voice. Chun looked to his side to see what looked like a wrinkled money with long silver hair. Closer inspections showed that it was actually a woman of advanced age. But what really shocked the old man was that he had completely not noticed any trace of her standing next to him. Even now as he stared at her he sensed almost nothing indicating her presence. The ability to do that, especially to a master like himself, implied such advanced skill that it actually made him nervous. "Who are you?" he cautiously asked.

The old woman gave a reassuring smile that in fact made her look even more menacing. "My name is Cologne. I am an acquaintance of Saotome Ranma. I came to get a good seat for his fight."

Chun said nothing as he was still very on edge around this woman. Not since his own master had he seen some own whose mastery of the martial arts was so evident. In fact this old woman was seemingly _at least_ his equal. As a long lived person it was rare for him to meet such a rival.

"I feel must return to my great-granddaughter," she calm stated. "Least she start wondering where I've gone. It was a pleasure to meet you…Invincible Old Master."

With that she hopped away back into the crowd with such speed and grace that no one even caught a glimpse of her. Kame-Sen'nin narrowed his eyes. While he could tell that she was indeed a master the upper limits of her abilities were undeterminable without fighting her. Even so she seemed interested in Ranma and, for his cocky student's sake, the old man hoped her motives weren't hostile.

If they were even Ranma's new strength might not be enough.

To be continued…

Preview of next chapter:

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. It took a lot of doing but I made it to the finals, as if there was any doubt. I'm only one more fight away from being declared the best fighter on Earth.

Turtle Hermit: You young fool! Do you really think you can beat me with just one good hand? Your ego will destroy you!

Ranma: Damn it, Old Freak, why'd you entered this tournament anyway? Just to mess with me or what? Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "The Tournament of Dreams Part Four: The Full Moon Rises!"

Goku: Alright! The final battle is-hey the moon sure is pretty….

Ranma: Uh oh.

Author's Note

Unless I messed up the research "Roga Hakku Ken" should roughly translate to White Tiger Fang Fist (Hakku being the name of a god, so it seems). As for learning the Roga Fufu Ken…if you recall Ranma ponders a way to counter the move right after his first fight with Yamcha way back when. This was the original intended payoff but as I took so long to get here the impact may have lessened. Also I find it ironic that Kuririn calls Ranma out on his shady tactics since in the manga he does the same thing to Goku early on when they first meet then again when they fight in the 22nd Tenka'ichi Budōkai.

As far as Roshi's reaction to Cologne…meh. In the original Ranma ½ manga the limit of her (Or Happosai's for that matter) skills and strength were never fully stated. All we know is that she appears to be much stronger than any other character when she debuts and remains very powerful throughout. Who's to say she isn't around the same level as the Turtle Hermit? And even if she's not in canon (She very likely isn't) this is luckily for me _fanfiction_ so I'm sure I'm alright.

Update: I've now edited this and all previous chapters. Spelling and grammar has been cleaned up a bit throughout the story.


	14. Tournament of Dreams pt4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the rights to Ranma ½ or Dragon Ball (Or Z or GT for that matter). They were created by Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama respectively. Don't sue me, man. Can't we all just get along?

**The Story Thus Far: **Saotome Ranma came to the World of Dragon Balls in a training accident and sought the power of Shenlong, the Dragon God, to return home. After meeting new friends and rivals and having several adventures he was wished back home, but soon returned to rescue his friend Kuonji Ukyo who was banished to the other world by his father. Vowing to remain here from now on he joined his best friend Son Goku to train under the tutelage of the Muten Roshi with the goal of winning the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai, a proverbial tournament of dreams, and proving that he is what he's always claimed he was: the best!

**Last Chapter:** As the Semi-Finals moved along Ranma confronted Jackie Chun, accusing him of actually being his master Kame-Sen'nin which he technically denied but also alluded to hypothetical motivations for his entry into the tournament. Chun would go on to defeat Kuririn and qualify for the Finals while Ranma, in a hard fought battle that left him with a broken hand, barely managed to slip past Goku. Meanwhile from the sidelines Cologne continues to silently observe the situation…

**Chapter 14**

**The Tournament of Dreams Part Four: **

**The Full Moon Rises!**

"Yup. That's one broken hand."

Saotome Ranma simply rolled his eyes at the medical prefessonal wrapping his hand. "Really? Gee, I hadn't notice."

He was in the medical ward of the arena, seated on one of the beds, receiving much needed medical attention following his bout with Son Goku in the Semi-Finals of Tenka'ichi Budōkai. He had been granted a long break to get looked at since he had injured his hand punching the monkey tailed boy out of bounds and winning the match.

"That was amazing, Ranma," Kuririn commented as the doctor continued working on his older training mate's hand. Both he and Goku had come along with the pig tailed boy to show support. "I was completely convinced that you had a zero chance against Goku. It is shocking to me that you managed to pull a victory out of nowhere like that. Shocking! Shocking, I say."

Ranma responded by pinching the bald monk's cheek as hard as he could. "Yeah yeah, I get it already Cue-Ball."

"Sir," the doctor said seeing his patient being reckless about his health. "Please refrain from attacking other contestants while I'm attending to your wounds."

The former Saotome Heir smirked as he released his friend. "Sorry, Doc. You know how it is."

"Mr. Saotome,' the doctor continued. "I know you're eager to fight in the finals but I perhaps you're underestimating your injury."

"Just set my hand, Doc," the otherworldly fighter said in a warning tone.

Goku just grinned; he was awfully cheerful for someone who just lost a big fight.

Kuririn was a bit more somber. "I know you have your pride and all but that Jackie Chun guy is really tough. I don't know if even you can pull off a win against him."

Ranma gave a cocky smirk that did nothing to alleviate Kuririn's concerns. "Won't know 'til I try," the older boy remarked to his training mate.

"Bold words. Is it bravery or the foolishness of youth?"

The words of Jackie Chun interrupted the conversation between the young warriors. The old man was standing in the door way, his expression serious. "Would you lot mind giving Ranma and myself a few minutes?"

The doctor gave the older man a glare. "Sir, I'm trying to give this young man medical attention. I can't just get up and leave because you asked me to."

"Don't worry about it, Doc," Ranma said causally. "This shouldn't' take long."

Reluctantly the two young turtle students and the doctor left the ward leaving Ranma with his pending opponent.

The white haired Chun stroked his beard as he moved closer to the young fighter. "It would seem that congratulations are in order, Ranma. I honestly did not believe you could defeat Goku."

The pig tailed boy again rolled his eyes. "Geez, does no one have faith in my skills?"

Chun simply shrugged. "Don't misunderstand. You are an amazing fighter, but Goku possesses a wild natural instinct for fighting that I've rarely seen."

"Whatever, old man," Ranma said, only giving a minimal amount of attention. "Are you ready to admit you're the Turtle Hermit yet?"

The aged master didn't answer immediately but eventually replied "Yes. As you have already guessed I am indeed your master Muten Roshi. I would appreciate if we kept this between ourselves."

The former Saotome Heir narrowed his eyes. "You wanna run around with a wig that's your business, Old Freak. But I wanna know why you entered the tournament in the first place. Couldn't stand the thought of your own students winning the whole thing?"

The now admitted Kame-Sen'nin chuckled at that. "It's simpler than you think. I wanted to ensure that Goku and Kuririn faced defeat in order to reinforce the ultimate lesson: there's always someone stronger. Otherwise they may acquire an 'I can take on anyone' attitude and slack on their training."

"So," Ranma said with a confused look. "You not worried about me winning?"

The old man narrowed his eyes. "You already have that attitude, don't you? You're cocky, undisciplined and egomaniacal."

"And good looking," Ranma added. "What's your point?"

"My point," continued an annoyed Turtle Hermit. "Is that unlike Goku and Kuririn you are on a dangerous path. An overconfident fighter is the worst kind of marital artists there is. Even now you charge into the finals with an injury with the laughable goal of defeating me with only one good hand. Is this pride? Arrogance? You need a lesson in humility before you destroy yourself, more so than Goku or Kuririn by far. As your master it is my burden to give you this lesson."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Being a little dramatic, ain't ya?"

Again the aged hermit hesitated before he spoke. He hadn't planned on telling the young man this part but perhaps it would help force the point home. "When you came to me a year ago and requested to be trained along with the other two I was reluctant to agree. The reason was that I had prior experience with training three students at once. I didn't end well.

"You know by now that I trained Goku's grandfather Son Gohan as well as Gyu-Mao, but what you don't know is that there was a third student. His name was Banjo, Jr."

The pig tailed boy laughed out loud at that. "His name was 'Banjo'? Seriously?"

Kame-Sen'nin simply shrugged. "I know, I know. 'Banjo' is sort of an old hokey traditional name by today's standards."

"Yeah," Ranma muttered, sarcastically. "That's exactly what I was getting at."

"Anyway," the disguised hermit continued. "Banjo Jr. was a late addition, much like you. And also like you he was surprisingly talented and took to the training very well. However he soon became cocky. He started believing he was the greatest fighter in the world and became corrupted by those thoughts. He began to resent the others for holding him back and eventually me as well. He endangered himself and those close to him with his recklessness. I was forced to eject him from the school because he allowed his massive ego to consume him. I foresee something similar becoming of you if you don't learn modesty."

From his spot in the room Ranma had apparently turned his back on the old man, tilting his head slightly and looking extremely bored. "Huh? Sorry Old Freak I wasn't listing. We were talking about banjos?"

Whack!

"Damn it, Old Freak!"

Frustrated by the easy gong nature of his student the old man just shook his head and turned t leave. "The 'why' I entered the tournament is not important. All that matters is that I won't let _you_ to win. That's all you need to know."

With that he left Ranma alone with his thoughts, which had taken none of the old man's words with the severity they warranted.

* * *

Back in the audience Yamcha the former bandit was fuming. When he woke up this morning he was feeling pretty good. He had a good night's sleep, had big breakfast, and was looking forward to a fun and exciting tournament. Sure life wasn't perfect; his girlfriend of the past year sometimes seemed hung up on the guy she was with before they met but hey, that guy literally wasn't on the planet anymore. No point in worrying about it.

Then he actually came to the island hosting the tournament. His day pretty much went down the toilet since he first set foot here. Ranma had not only returned, not only made it farther than him in the brackets, not only seemed to grab Bulma's attention, but he had also apparently learned his one signature move, the Wolf Fang Fist. In fact he had improved on it; where Yamcha's version was just barely enough to make Jackie Chun sweat Ranma's "Roga Hakku Ken" had managed to defeat Goku.

This was a nightmare.

Yamcha's aura of anger didn't go unnoticed. Bulma, was right beside him, took note of his scowling expression. "What's got you so pouty?" she asked.

"Saotome stole my move," he growled.

The teen genius rolled her rolls. "What? That's all? What's the big deal?"

Yamcha's expression darkened even more. "It took me years to perfect that technique. Saotome saw me use it once. Once! And he apparently not only figured out the fundamentals of it but also actually improved upon it!"

Bulma smiled unconsciously. "Yeah, I guess Ranma's a real genius when it comes to martial arts." She caught herself when she realized what she was saying. "I mean, it's not like you're a slouch in that department either."

The former bandit gave his girlfriend a questioning glance before. "Did you talk to Saotome earlier? When Goku and that bald kid went looking for you?"

The green blue haired girl paused. Then she smiled nervously. "Yeah, I saw him for a second. I wished him luck."

From the other side of Pu'ar coughed, but a look of pure hatred from Bulma kept him quiet. If Yamcha noticed he didn't say anything.

* * *

**Saotome Ranma VERSUS Jackie Chun**

It was sundown. A perfect time for a duel.

"Ladies and gentlemen it's the moment we've all been waiting for!"

Both Ranma and Jackie Chun found themselves staring each other down in the ring. The tension filled the arena though no one could know its depths. Master and student would normally not be fighting each other in such a capacity, but fate had led these warriors here.

"We have finally made it to the finals of the Tenka'ichi Budōkai! Both of these competitors have displayed tremendous ability in the martial arts!"

Ranma grimaced. Despite his bravado he was seriously feeling the effects of his busted right hand. However all eyes were on him and he now had the opportunity to face the strongest fighter he'd ever seen…and defeat him. It didn't matter if his hand was broken nor would it matter if all his bones were shattered: if he beat Kame-Sen'nin then he was the best in the world, no question, which was really the whole point of the training he received his whole life.

He smirked as the excitement of getting to face the man who mentored him the last year began to set in his mind. "_Alright, Old Freak, let's see what ya got!_"

Kame-Sen'nin was equally deep in thought. He sincerely believed that Ranma was in danger from himself. He honestly feared what the young man would do if he had the title of "Strongest Under Heaven" under his belt. Under the right circumstances the pig tailed boy could be a master, possibly even a true heir to his own school, but his arrogance had to be snuffed out now before it had a chance to fester and take over.

"_I can't afford to lose_," the Muten Roshi thought to himself. "_Forgive me, Ranma, but I must crush your dreams in order to help you achieve even greater heights!_"

"This is a battle between youth and experience! Who will win: the young upstart from the turtle school or the venerable master who has breezed through the tournament so far? The winner of this bout will be crowned the Strongest Under the Heavens!

"Fighters ready? BEGIN!"

Chun launched himself at the teenaged fighter at dizzying speed, clearly not wanting to waste any time. He whipped at Ranma with his arm, but the pig tailed boy backed away in an attempt to avoid the strike. The old man continued with a roundhouse kick as his first attack missed its mark. The extended strike forced the boy to block rather than evade, which was exactly what the Muten Roshi was counting on. Acting on a speed that most of the audience couldn't even see he struck his student with a double palm strike to his chest.

Ranma was staggered by the blow, which was one of the strongest landed in the tournament so far. In this state he seemed to be easy pickings for the Turtle Hermit he attempted to follow up this attack with a strong kick. Shockingly Ranma leapt over the old man, apparently not nearly as stunned as it first seemed. But again the old man had counted on this and quickly responded with a jumping kick that sent the mid-air Ranma out towards the audience.

The Announcer kept up his end. "It seems that the older and wiser Jackie Chun has just sent a strong message to new generation by ending this match in a ring-out early on!"

"_Hmm,_" Chun inwardly noted as Ranma punted out of bounds. "_I suppose I was worried for nothing._"

Any victory speech Chun would have made was cut off by Ranma's roar of "Kamehameha!" The following explosion suggested that the pig tailed boy was attempting to return to the ring in a similar fashion as the old man upon almost meeting defeat by Kuririn in the Semi-Finals. Indeed using the ki wave the former Saotome Heir was now rapidly re-approaching the ring.

But even so the boy's master wasn't that impressed. "So it seems you've gotten better at using the Kamehameha, eh lad?" the old man yelled at his airborne student. "But you won't win this match just by copying my moves!"

Still in the air Ranma grinned at the old man's remark. He arched his hands in the familiar position once more. Blue chi gathered in his palm, but rather than unleashing it at Jackie Chun he blasted upward and away propelling him towards his foe at an extremely high velocity. "Eat this, Old Freak!"

Chun's eyes widened as he realized that Ranma was quickly approaching him with his leg extended. "What? Two of them?"

"Kamehameha Ryūsei Kyaku!"

The second Kamahameha gave Ranma the extra boost to perform a devastating kick. Perhaps a mixture of the shock of seeing his student perform two high level versions of the Turtle Destruction Wave in row and the blazing speed of the attack caused the old hermit to take the attack head on. He crumbled to the ground.

"Incredible!" The announcer declared. "Contestant Ranma has displayed a shocking mastery of the Kamehameha Wave and has taken Jackie Chun out with a single mind bogglingly powerful kick!"

"Hey," Ranma said over the blond sunglasses wearing announcer. "How 'bout you start that ten count, if you ain't too busy? You know, it's only your damn job!"

"Oh right," the Announcer said, somewhat embarrassed. "One! Two! Three!"

From the fighter's entrance Kuririn was shocked. He hadn't realized that Ranma had progressed that far in his training. For his part his training mate Goku, also standing on the sidelines, was significantly more somber. "No way it's that easy," the monkey tailed boy muttered.

The young monk shook his head. "Easy? He lucked out, is what happened. No way the does Jackie gets up from-"

"And Jackie Chun is up before by the count of seven!" The Announcer declared, interrupting Kuririn's assumption.

Indeed Chun had gotten back up to his feat, though his nose was a little more crooked than it used to be. He gave his student a bitter glare. "I suppose I underestimated your progress after all. I knew you had learned the Kamehameha but I never dreamed you could so rapidly perform the technique."

Ranma smiled. "I guess I should have figured that kick wouldn't be enough. But now I'll just take you out quickly."

This time Chun didn't respond. He simply braced himself.

Ranma readied the fighting stance that defeated Son Goku. "Roga Hakku Ken!"

Once more the teenage turtle disciple dashed at his opponent with incredible speed. He connected with a blow from his left hand that went right through the old man…wait, right through him? What looked to Ranma and the audience like Jackie Chun was apparently an illusion, some sort of After Image. The pig tailed boy's confidence dropped as he realized he had lost track of his master.

"Behind you," was all the boy heard from the hermit before he was struck by a tremendous double chop to the back of his neck. Ranma, after being attacked by his master with such force took two steps forward before falling flat on his face.

Jackie Chun, now standing over Ranma's fallen form, gave a deep sigh of relief. "You gave me a work out, boy, but in the end there's little a youngster like you can do against decades upon decades of training." He turned to the Announcer. "No need to make the count. I estimate he'll wake up three days from now."

The crowd roared with approval as the old man seemed to have the deceive victory. From her spot in the audience though one lone voice called out to the fallen pig tailed boy. "Ranma, you dumb jock!" Bulma yelled out at the top of her lungs. "If you lose to that old man I'll never forgive!"

Miraculously Ranma stirred, just as the count was reaching nine. "Yeah yeah, ya stupid brat," he quickly muttered as he slowly stood up. "I ain't done yet, so quit your belly aching."

The crowd cheered even harder upon seeing the resilience of the younger fighter. Bulma simply gave a relieved sigh. "Don't worry me like that, dummy."

Chun backed away from the now standing Ranma, genuinely surprised that he would be able to continue this fight. "To take such a blow…you've impressed me, youth."

"Oh yeah?" Ranma sad, smirking. "Well get ready to drop your jaw some more 'cause I still got a few tricks left."

The disguised Muten Roshi chuckled at that. "You've already used your trump card. Isn't better to give up rather than risking further injury to your hand or neck?"

"Screw you, Old Freak!" Ranma yelled as he again formed the stance of the White Tiger Fang Fist. He dashed wildly at his mentor with seemingly no real plan. "I'll do an all-out attack!"

"You fool" was all anyone heard from the old man as, just like before, Ranma passed through an After Image rather than the old man himself. And just like last time Chun appeared from behind with a powerful blow…that passed through an After Image of his intended target!

"Impossible!' Roshi declared as he saw the real Ranma coming at him from the corner of his eye. Apparently the Turtle Hermit had fallen right into Ranma's trap!

"You fell for it," Ranma yelled as he struck the old man with a kick. But to his chagrin that too turned out to be an After Image. Apparently it was the pig tailed boy, not his master, who had been caught.

"You didn't count on the Niju Zanzoken," Chun yelled as he suddenly reappeared with a crushing knee attack straight for Ranma's head.

Or it would have if that as the real Ranma. Chun stopped short right before he connected. "I'm no fool, Ranma." He looked to his right. Another blurry image of Ranma stood there with its tongue stuck out. "You're a fast learner, but the real you is obviously…"

The old man struck the Ranma that was creeping behind him with a blow at full force. "HERE!"

But it wasn't! Again it was just an After Image! "A triple shadow? It can't be!"

"It's over" the real Ranma yelled from the far side of the ring. His stance was one all two familiar to the turtle hermit. "Kamehameha!"

The blast of blue chi connected to the off-guard Jackie Chun sending him crashing into one of the statues near the fighter's entrance, shattering the stone like it was a sand castle. From where he stood Ranma slumped over. The battle had seriously taken its toll, but doing three After Images in conjunction with a Kamehameha had wiped him out. "Stay down would ya?"

The Announcer again made the count but once again Chun got to his feet before being disqualified, leaving Ranma feeling a bit flabbergasted. "Damn, what's it gonna take?"

Dusting himself off and cracking his neck Chun gave is student a knowing glance. "Simply incredible. You quickly learn from your mistakes and missteps in battle and immediately incorporate that information into your fighting style. You moves are fluid and ever changing. I've never fought an opponent quite like that."

Ranma shrugged. "Well if our so impressed than why don't you just give up and let me win?"

"Sorry," the disguised Kame-Sen'nin replied with a surprising amount of sincerity. "As I said I cannot allow you to win. But to think I would have to resort to this move…

"Only one man has ever driven me this far, Ranma!"

With that the aged fighter clasped his hands together and began drawing in what appeared to be huge amount of ki. Chun then thrust his now glowing palms forward. "Bankoku Bikkuri Shou!"

Lighting literally shot out from the old man's hands hitting its target. Ranma, now covered in an aura of electricity, screamed in pain as seemingly every bit of his being felt like it was on fire. The crowd was speechless a this display.

"Surrender, lad," Jackie Chun yelled. "Or else you'll die! I'm serous!"

Ranma was in excruciating pain and unable to move, but he was still defiant. "Eat shit, old fart," he managed to spit out.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Announcer yelled out into his microphone. "I think it's safe to say that Saotome Ranma is at the mercy of Jackie Chun! It seems the winner of this fight will be determined by whether or not the young fighter submits…or perishes at the hands of this highly dangerous technique!"

The scene was almost too much to watch and many spectators had to turn away. From their spot at ringside Ukyo and Chi-Chi were practically begging Ranma to surrender. "You fought well, Ranchan," the chef called out. "It's okay to give up!"

"NEVER!" Ranma screamed despite the fact that his vision was starting to blur.

Goku looked on from the fighter's entrance. Unlike many of the others in the arena he still believed in his friend's ability to escape. "Big Brother! You can still win!"

However at that fateful moment the young monkey tailed boy happened to catch a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. It was something that he had only seen a few times in his life. And it was something that if Yamcha and Bulma had bothered to keep up with the lunar cycle they would have probably would have kept him indoors during this fight.

"Hey, is that the moon?" Goku asked to no one in particularly. Indeed he was mesmerized by its sight. Night had not yet fallen but the moon could still easily be seen in the evening glow. "So pretty..."

It was Kuririn who noticed Goku's attitude first. He was going to tell him to get his head out of the clouds but before he could get the words out he noticed that his friend seemed to be getting hairier…and larger? In fact he was getting huge!

"G-Goku?" Kuririn said as he backed away from his friend. "W-what are you d-doing?"

Before he knew it the former monk wasn't speaking to his friend but instead talking to what appeared to be a giant ape-like monster.

And it wasn't happy.

Soon all eyes were forced away from the fight and onto the creature that seemed to be intent on crushing everything. The monster gave a blood stopping roar, smashing parts of the arena's architecture.

"Oh God!" Yamcha yelled form ringside. "It's the full moon! Goku's turned into that monster ape again!"

From the ring Jackie Chun found himself concentrating less on his opponent and more on the giant monkey taking a swing at him. The massive fist coming straight at is head forced the old man to dodge out of the way which, incidentally, broke the hold of the Bankoku Bikkuri Shou over Ranma. Free, but hurting, the teenage boy had little time to react before the creature turned on him as well.

"What the hell is that thing?" Ranma asked, terror taking the place of reason.

"Are you asking me?" Chun replied as he continued trying to avoid attacks from the creature. "How am I supposed to know?"

The monkey beast turned its attention towards the pig tailed boy. Ranma looked up at the monster like a deer caught in headlights. As the former child began to bring down it massive fist on top of the stunned teenager a third party knocked the former Saotome Heir out of harm's way right before he would have been crushed. It was Yamcha; he had come into the ring and rescued his perceived rival form certain doom. "He's very dangerous in this state," the former bandit explained.

From the sidelines Kuririn was panicking. He, like most of the people in the area, had never seen anything like this. "Ranma!" he called out to his friend. "We have to run! Goku's gone crazy!"

The pig tailed fighter's eyes widened at that. "Goku? That thing is Goku?"

Yamcha nodded. "Goku turns into that creature whenever he sees a full moon," he explained. "The last time this happened was the night Shenlong sent you and Ryoga back to your world."

Ranma glanced at the rampaging creature; he seemed like he wanted to destroy as much of the temple as possible. Was this Goku's true form? Was this the source of his power? Is this why he was missing his tail? Should he stay and fight it? He couldn't' run, he'd lose the fight by ring-out.

"Don't worry," Yamcha announced. "I have a plan! Come on Pu'ar!"

"Yes sir!" the cat creature yelled as he suddenly appeared behind his friend. Of course Ranma fainted upon seeing him there, because as we all know flying cat-like creatures are more terrifying than giant ape monsters.

Before Yamcha could enact his plan of cutting goff Goku's til for a second time he noticed that Jackie Chun, having apparently removed his jacket, was staring the creature down. "So the full moon has turned Goku into a monster, eh?" He had a dangerous look in his eyes.

The frail old man shouted, apparently powering up his inner chi to extraordinary levels. His frame bulged out in massive muscles as blue chi began collecting in his hands. Yamcha recognized this as being similar to the destruction of Fry-Pan Mountain at the hands of the Muten Roshi but the difference being that he could sense that this gathering of power was much stronger!

"KAMEHAMEHA! FULL POWER!"

"Noooo," Yamcha screamed as the old man released the massive ki blast. So bright was the attack that it actually temporarily blinded all in the arena.

The power unleashed was great enough to force Ranma back to his senses. However he was greeted with smoke and debris where his monstrous friend had previously been standing. The blast Chun had let loose would have been too much for even a creature as large as that to survive. "Goku," the teenage boy said as he looked over the scene. "He…he killed him?"

Yamcha, who was nearby the pig tailed boy, was giving Jackie Chun a downright horrified look. "You…you didn't need to kill him! Cutting of his tail would have turned him normal!"

Chun made no expression of remorse. "I did what I had to do based on what little information I had," he calmly said.

Perhaps he had more to say but the old man was cut off by his pig tailed opponent…by way of a punch to the jaw. The disguised Turtle Hermit was literally knocked off his feet by the attack from Ranma. As he looked over his assailant he noticed that this was not the same youth he had been fighting before: this was a Ranma clearly consumed by rage. Even his battle aura was visible, but it was a shade of red. As a master the aged fighter could sense the power the boy as displaying…and it deeply shocked him!

"You bastard," Ranma growled. "You killed Goku! You killed my little brother! You'll pay for this, you murdering scum!"

He was deadly serious, the hermit could tell. He was ready to rip him to shreds and the so-called invincible master had little doubt that he could do it.

Luckily for the turtle hermit he was saved by his other disciple timely intervention. Kuririn quickly grabbed his older training mate's legs. "Wait Ranma! Goku's not dead!"

This snapped the teenaged fighter out of his rage. The former monk pointed to the spot where the giant monkey once stood. The smoke that surrounded the area had dissipated revealing an unconscious, naked, but very much so alive Goku lying peaceful on the ground.

"Goku!" Ranma yelled, forgetting all about gaining revenge on Kame-Sen'nin, rushed over to his fallen friend. He picked the little sleeping body into his arms. "You stupid money," he sniffed. "Don't worry me like that, idiot!"

Kuririn gave a knowing smile at this scene. "Wow Ranma, are you crying?"

"W-what?" Ranma spat out while quickly wiping his eyes. "O-of course not! It's all this dust!"

"Oh my God," the booming voice of the Announcer yelled. "The moon is gone! I think Jackie Chun just destroyed the moon!"

It was true. Despite that it stood against all logical it the moon had been blown way. The power attack was not aimed at Goku but rather the moon itself!

Chun, now back on his feet and calmly putting his jacket back on, simply nodded. "Of course. Now Goku will never change again."

Ranma gave the old man a somewhat embarrassed look. "I guess I should have known you wouldn't kill the kid. Sorry I lost it back there."

Chun just waved him off. "No need to apologize, lad. It seems like you and the boy share a very close bond."

The pig tailed boy nodded then turned his attention to the boy in his arms. "Goku once told me," he said to those around him. "That a monster stepped on and killed his grandpa a while back. He said he was told that the monster walked around during full moons and that he'd be safe as long as he stayed indoors." He gave his master an uncharacteristically sad expression as realization over her 'brother's" tragic past set it. "Goku _was_ that monster. He killed his own grandfather."

Chun nodded. "It seems to be the most likely scenario."

"That's why we kept it secret when we found out a year ago," Yamcha somberly added. "He never remembers what happens when he turns into that thing. We didn't want him to have to live with the knowledge he killed his only family, you know."

"Yeah," Ranma replied. "And the rest of us are gonna keep that secret. There ain't no moon anymore so he won't change again. He doesn't need to know about this. Ever!" He glared at the large crowd gathered with an expression similar to the one he had given Jackie Chun just minutes go. "Right? You guys can keep a secret, right?"

The crowd nodded clearly fearful of the boy's wrath.

"Goku is still Goku," the boy continued, his voice full of pity. "It doesn't matter what that thing we just saw was. The real Goku is that sweet, stupid kid that's always trying to help people."

"Um, I hate to interrupt," the Announcer said from his spot at ringside. "But do you think you two are able to continue with the finals?"

Ranma nodded "Yeah, I'm game if the old man is." He looked over to Ukyo's spot in the front row. "Hey Ucchan, you mind grabbing Goku for me?"

Ukyo, who had been looking on in shock nearly the entire sequence of events involving the ape monster, quickly entered the ring and took the boy into her arms. "Yeah, sure thing Ranchan."

The other worldly fighter turned his gaze towards Jackie Chun, but said one last thing to his oldest friend. "You're pretty much the only one I trust to look after 'em for me."

Ukyo was unable to responds due to the large amount of blushing she was doing. Instead she walked towards what was left of the fighter's backstage area, joined soon by Kuririn.

The ring cleared of people finally both fighters again found themselves facing off, though the tone of the fight had changed drastically due to the interruption. "I have to say, lad," Chun said to his pupil. "I'm not running on much after that large Kamehameha. But I know that you can probably barely stand after taking the Bankoku Bikkuri Shou for so long. Therefore I suggest that we finish things with our fists. Even with the most refined fighters it eventually comes down to that in the end."

"Fine by me," Ranma replied. "I'm running fumes."

Chun smirked. He knew Ranma had been seriously hurt by his attack before Goku got involved in the fight. Now that he had successfully baited Ranma into an all or nothing slugfest he knew all he had to do was put all the last of his remaining strength into a blow to his student's right side; with his injured hand he won't be able to defend properly. "_You've fought well, Ranma_," the old man thought to himself. "_But it's over now!_"

"I'm hungry," a sleepy Goku mumbled from the sidelines.

Both fighters charged each other at full tilt intent on ending this battle now! Chun leapt forward into a flying kick aiming straight for his disciple. However Ranma didn't follow suit. Instead of leaping at the old man with a forward attack he slid towards him on his knees using his momentum to thrust himself forward. As a result the airborne Chun found himself above a leaned back pig tailed boy.

"No! You can't have enough energy for that? Chun yelled as he realized what Ranma was about to do.

"Wanna bet!" Ranma yelled back as he leapt up from his spot connecting with a giant head butt against the old man. The impact was hard enough that everyone in the arena heard it. Both fighters fell backwards after the attack, both master and student lying on their backs.

"Ranma has just delivered a mighty blow to Jackie Chun using what little remained of his strength!" The Announcer declared. "But does he have anything left!"

Apparently he did not since despite being on the giving end of that blow it seemed to have taken everything he had to do it. Like Chun he was on the ground and he didn't look to be moving! The Announcer was forced to start the ten count. The crowd was split; half cheered Chun to stand while the other half was yelling for Ranma. By the count of five both fighters began stirring, forcing willing themselves to their feet. But in the end at the count of nine Chun's legs gave out forcing him back down. It was the younger fighter who was able to stand.

"Winner by way of Knock Out: Saotome Ranma! Ranma is the Strongest Under the Heavens!"

The teenage fighter waved at the roaring crowd, all of whom seemed to be totally on his side at this point. And then he passed out. Perhaps it wasn't actually strength that forced the boy to his feet but rather pride and his obsession with not losing. His mission completed his body seemed to just shut down and the otherworldly fighters simply laid on the ring sleeping off the incredible battle.

From his spot on the ground Kame-Sen'nin leaned forward, frowning deeply. "_I've failed,_" he thought to himself. "_I never dreamed I'd have to expend so much power to destroy the moon. Now that he's won this tournament I fear I may have truly created a monster!_"

Amidst the cheer crowd two women watched on, no less in awe but armed with their own agenda.

"Great-Grandmother," Shampoo said, smiling brightly. "Airen is too too strong! Is amazing, yes?"

Cologne nodded in agreement. "He's much more powerful than when he fought you last year. His strength would make a great boon for our village." Her expression darkened. "However I underestimated how strong his allies were. I fear if we simply took Son-in-Law now we may have to fight several super powered fighters in the process. We will have to approach this very carefully."

Shampoo gave her grandmother a curious look, not exactly certain what the matriarch was planning. "Airen's friends is obstacles?"

"I'm not certain yet, Shampoo," the old woman replied. Her expression turned cold and emotionless. "If they are…as you well know obstacles are for killing."

To be continued…

Preview of next chapter:

Ranma: Yo, Ranma here. Looks like I just showed everyone who the real strongest fighter in the world is. As if there was any doubt.

Kame-Sen'nin: Of course you do realize that had Goku not transformed and try to kill everyone you would have lost, do you not?

Ranma: Details, details. I'm sure I would have figured something out. But now I have to deal with something way scarier than martial art masters or giant monsters: women.

Ukyo: Come on, Ranchan! Let's go find those Dragon Ball things and finally get ourselves home!

Shampoo: Airen ready to come back to Amazon village, yes?

Bulma: You jerk! You're leaving already? You just came back!

Ranma: Aw man, I can't deal with this crap. Can't we have a few more chapters about me fighting guys instead? Next time on Ranma and the Monkey King: "Ranma's Fateful Decision! The Dragon Ball Hunt Begins Again!"

Author's Note

Okay so first of all I did not make the decision to have Ranma win the tournament lightly. I agonized over whether to do it or not for the majority of the time I was writing this story. In the end I figured out an interesting story hook spun out of his victory so I went with it. I am trying hard to avoid making him too powerful or too competent. It's a tricky line to balance across, however. Anyway the "Kamehameha Ryūsei Kyaku" is based on the "Pantyhose Shooting Star Kick" attack Ranma threw together in his fight with Pantyhose Taro in the Ranma ½ manga.

One more thing. In case you hadn't noticed I've revised all previous chapters in this story, fixing a lot of spelling/grammar problems and various other issues that had been bugging the hell out of me since I first published this thing in 2003. I'm significantly happier with "Ranma and the Monkey King" now.


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